Bonds of Chaos
by TheAnonymoux
Summary: What do you do when you're tied by your life source to your rival? When Sonic and Shadow are bonded together by their Chaos energy, their bitter relationship is driven to its worst. They want nothing to do with each other, driven apart by hate and resentment, but have no choice but to be mates. With outside forces intruding, can they find a way to love each other? Sonadow.
1. Prologue

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**Summary –**

_Everyone thinks Chaos Energy is a gift; something special to have. To Sonic and Shadow, it's a curse. After Dark Sonic and Super Shadow use Chaos Control at the same time, their opposite energies create a bond that ties them together. There may be a way to undo the bond, but it would be at a great price. They hate each other, but can they find a way to love instead? Sonadow._

**Warnings -**

This story is Rated M for dark themes, such as rape/non-con, and violence. If you are sensitive to these themes, avoid reading. We are not responsible if you do end up reading despite our warnings. We do not promote any of these themes, and do not encourage them in any way whatsoever. Complaints will be ignored, because we will assume you did not read this warning. Thank you.

**Notes -**

This story is the first in a set series. To avoid confusion, please read this one first before reading any others in the "Bonds Of Chaos" Series.

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* * *

**Bonds of Chaos**

**Written by Anonymoux-Sonic  
Beta'd by Shadow**

**Prologue –**

"Shit!"

The explosion of metal shot outward into the street, the mobians that were trying to evacuate to the shelter screaming and turning another way. Sonic groaned as he fell against the ground, squeezing his eyes shut as one arm reached behind him to feel the damage. His back was bleeding, which was a shock -he never bled easily- with a piece of metal lodged into it. His fingers squeeze the grass under him as he grabs the shard and then puts his other hand to his mouth, biting into the glove as he pulls the metal out with a short, muffled cry.

Throwing the metal aside and collapsing in the grass for just one second, because dammit he deserved a breather, he lets out a shaky sigh and keeps his eyes closed, his ears flicking at the sound of explosions and buildings crumbling.

_Get up, idiot, _he told himself, knowing that every second he wasted laying there was only going to lead to someone getting hurt.

"_Sonic?! Are you there?!" _came the female cry from his communicator, and he sighs again, slowly lifting his arm close enough to his mouth so he could answer.

"Yeah, I'm alive," he mumbles, not sure how honest he was being with himself. He certainly didn't _feel_ alive…

"_Oh, thank goodness! Are you injured?!" _came the voice again, and he rolled his eyes, finally opening them.

"Nah, not at all," he lies through gritted teeth, putting his hands underneath him to force himself up to a sitting position. He winces when his back strains, his ears pinning back uncomfortably. He looks up through squinted eyes at the flying fortress turning the sky into a smoldering red and smoky grey, hundreds of robots zipping off of it like bees out of a nest. Fires were erupting throughout the city and buildings were collapsing under the stress of the battle. He only thanked Gaia they had time to get most of everyone to the underground shelter before the waves hit.

"_Sonic, we need help! Half of our G.U.N. support has been wiped out, and Knuckles is down!" _again was the voice, and he closes his eyes, looking down.

"Yeah, I'm on it, Sal," he answers tiredly. All he had wanted was a nap. Seriously, was sleep too much to ask for?

He reaches behind him for the metal wall that use to be a flying ship, shakily grabbing onto it for support as he pulls himself to his feet. His leg hurt, bad, which meant something was wrong with it. His eyes narrow as he looks back up at the flying fortress, scanning it carefully.

There were no open weak points, for once anywhere that the eye could see. Powered by the Chaos Emeralds, each of the seven ships created by Eggman formed together into one, giant sky fortress, about triple the size of the Egg Carrier, and certainly equipped with more fire power. The ships could detach as they pleased, with the liberty of the doctor himself. They sat directly atop of New Mobotropolis, covering it with a dark shadow like a blanket. The emeralds themselves sat snugly within each of the ships, far out of reach or feel. Any time he tried to get into one of the ships, something would hit or blast him back. Eggman saw him coming every time…

A flash of blue erupted before him and he frowns, almost glaring at the black and red hedgehog that appeared before him. Shadow raises a brow at the hero, noticing all the of the injuries that he had obviously lied about. Sonic raises a brow back at him, not oblivious to the injuries the self proclaimed Ultimate Lifeform had as well. "Anything?" the cobalt hedgehog asks, not wanting to wait any longer. He's wasted enough time.

Shadow turns and looks up at the ship. "I can only feel the emeralds when I'm close enough, but it's impossible to stay long enough to draw on their power."

"We need a distraction," Sonic states, looking around. "We need him to pay attention to something else while we make the transformation…"

Shadow turns back to him with doubt. "You really believe our Super forms are going to do anything against that? Without enough energy they'll hardly last."

Sonic smirks, chuckling to himself. "What happened to that 'Ultimate Confidence?'" When Shadow glares at him the hero sighs. "Alright, yeah it's gonna be pretty tight. I'm sure if we're fast enough we could at least do enough damage."

"And then what?" Shadow about snaps. "What do we do when we're out of energy? Take a seat and let the doctor finish what he came to do? We're done here."

Sonic's eyes widen, before narrowing darkly. "We're _hardly_ done here! We can still-!"

"_Sonic we need you here now!" _came Sally's voice over the communicator. _"I can't get Tails to respond!"_

A cold, terrible chill ran through Sonic then, and he looks up at the sky, for any sign of the red plane his little brother should be flying. There was none.

"_Sonic?!" _

The hedgehog goes quiet, gritting his teeth, both of his hands going up to his head to grab the fur there in frustration.

_Fuck, _was all he could think. _Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck- _"_Fuck!"_ he exclaims suddenly, turning away and practically reeling over. He didn't feel good, not at all… They were completely and utterly screwed. Eggman was going to win. Tails…

_Fuck _where was Tails?

"Faker, pull yourself together!" Shadow hisses, grabbing the hero by the shoulders and turning him around, holding him up.

Sonic only lets out a weak laugh, pulling away as he felt the energy in his body flip completely upside down, too strong for him to fight it. "I'll be your distraction," he says, grinning and unable to fight the energy any longer. Shadow blinks, taking a step back as he watches Sonic disappear in a black flash of energy.

Then three of seven ships explode.

"_What was that?!" _came Rotor's voice over the com, and suddenly Rouge is yelling.

"_Sonic's gone Dark! Shadow get up there!"_

The striped hedgehog curses before teleporting to one of the ships that hasn't exploded yet, his ruby eyes squinted as he tried to see through the smoke and fire. Dark Sonic was making a mess of this thing…

He could at least feel the Chaos Emeralds now.

"_No!" _came Eggman's enraged call over the speakers. "_Nononononononooooo!"_

"Dammit, faker," Shadow curses under his breath, taking off in a blur of gold as he tried to locate both Sonic and the Chaos Emeralds, before the darkened hero did something he regretted.

One after one, he finds the emeralds on the exploding vessels, gathering up six of them as the fortress is starting to collapse onto the city.

"Sonic!" Shadow calls over the communicator, hoping the idiot's energy wasn't interfering with the frequency. "Stop it! You're going to crush the city!"

It didn't stop.

"Son of a bitch," the hedgehog growls, dodging a malfunctioning laser canon and spindashing into the room that had the last emerald. Snatching it, he pulls it close, focusing on all seven emeralds' energies and letting them tap into his own. Figures he would have to not only stop the city from being crushed, but Sonic from being stupid, as usual.

He just hoped he wasn't too late.

After absorbing the raw, powerful energy of the seven emeralds, the now-golden biohog teleports to where he felt Sonic's energy the strongest.

Long and behold, it happened to be Eggman's control center.

Dark Sonic, in all his glory, stood on Eggman's console, looming over him, his sharp claws digging into the madman's throat. His eyes were a haunting white, glowing against the dark blue, almost black fur and aura he possessed. Eggman turned and saw Super Shadow, his eyes wide and hopeful.

"Sh-Sh-Sh-Shadow! Help me!"

Sonic's head turned quickly to the gold and red hedgehog, who walked calmly up to both of them with a cautious frown. "Faker, let him go. The city is going to be crushed if we don't get this thing out of here, as are all of your friends."

The dark hedgehog frowned and dropped the doctor, who scrambled away to his flying pod and activated it.

"This thing is set to self destruct, once all of the Chaos Emeralds are removed!" Eggman grins, boasting as if he hadn't been scared out of his shell only moments ago. "You're all doomed!" With that, he activates his pod and shoots through the escape path, causing Dark Sonic to growl and hurl a Chaos Spear where the human had been.

"Faker!" Shadow grabs the hero's arm, turning him to face him. Sonic snarled at him, trying to pull back, but Shadow held tight, forcing the other to meet his eyes. "We need to stop this ship, now," he says firmly, trying to ignore the shock of energy caused by his Light and Sonic's Dark making contact.

"_THREE MINUTES UNTIL SELF DESTRUCTION." _

The darkened hedgehog's eyes narrow, but he calms down at least enough to listen. Shadow lets out a sigh, letting go of his arm.

"If we use Chaos Control, we can get this ship somewhere away from the city," the Ultimate Lifeform offers. "Most likely to the ocean."

Dark's frown deepens, but he nods and looks away. Shadow chalks that up as a victory. "The Sapphire Sea. Follow my energy."

Sonic doesn't nod, but just watches Shadow turn and follows quietly. The golden hedgehog turns back to make sure the hero hadn't gone off, especially with how unpredictable this form was. It was stronger than their Super forms, probably even combined, so it would help immensely. He just hoped this control Sonic had on it would be enough to not kill them or anyone else.

Standing at the peak of the ship, they see how fast the whole thing is moving to the ground, before turning and facing each other. "Are you ready?" the golden of the two asks, raising a brow at the darker hedgehog. Sonic doesn't answer, probably trying to focus his control on keeping sane. Instead he takes a step back to give them both room, and Shadow nods.

"Alright then," he starts, the two of them building up their energy between them.

"_Chaos-!"_

* * *

_Three Months Later_

Rouge puts a hand on her right hip and smirks, turning the light on with her other hand. _Couldn't those two be any quieter?_ she thinks to herself as she grabs the bag of groceries off the ground and kicks the front door shut behind her. "It's a good thing I'm looking out for them," she hums to herself, hearing a loud thud on the upstairs floor, followed by a curse and cry. What did she expect, though? They hated each other, so it wasn't like this was entirely fun to them.

Well, that's what they told themselves, at least.

Walking into the kitchen behind the bar and putting the bag on the island counter, she makes herself useful by putting the food away, her ears flicking at the noises upstairs. Another bang and thud sounded right after each other, and she wonders if she should have gotten a first aid kit while she was out…

They seriously needed to get their own place, though, she thought as well. They couldn't keep doing this in her club, especially if she needed those rooms up there for her guests. Even after yelling at the two for breaking a mirror and dresser and _bed, _as well as leaving blood stains on the nice, white carpet, they still had a problem keeping their messes contained. At least they paid her back with her very own Chaos Emerald. She couldn't decline it, but it didn't help clean up the mess, or pay for the repairs.

This was the only place they could do this, though. Mobotropolis wasn't exactly private, especially for those two, and they couldn't risk having anyone and everyone find out their secret. They needed a cabin, or something in the woods, she thought. Something far away from everyone that only they could go to.

Although, she did enjoy the situation, so she couldn't complain _too _much.

It goes quiet for a minute or two, before she stops and waits, counting down inwardly as she waiting for the next faze to go through. Sure enough, yelling was soon heard between the two, mixed with curses and insults that could traumatize a person. Doors slamming and more yelling followed, along with angry footsteps and such. The ivory bat can only sigh and shake her head, leaning against the counter as she crossed her arms and waited.

Sure enough, one of the two culprits finally made his way downstairs, soaking wet from most likely a shower. He walks in the kitchen, sees her, glares, then makes his way to the fridge and pulls out a water. Rouge finally frowns.

"Blue," she starts, watching the hedgehog down the entire bottle and toss it in the trash on the other side of the room. He ignores her, opening the fridge again and grabbing an apple. "Sonic," she says, this time louder and snappier, causing him to finally turn his emerald eyes to her. "Thank you," she smiles, walking over to stand in front of him. He leans back, giving her an uncomfortable look as he bites into his apple, watching her look over him for any serious injuries. There's a large bruise on his side, just showing through the fawn fur on his stomach, and cuts and scrapes littering him from head to toe. She can only imagine what the other hedgehog looks like.

"You guys have got to stop being so violent with each other," she comments, walking around him in a circle. His eyes narrow as he takes another bite of his fruit, his ears flicking back as she stands behind him. His tail was lowered and his quills were raised sharply, his foot tapping irritably against the tiled floor. "I mean it, Blue. This isn't healthy for either of you."

His patience seems to snap then, and he walks forward away from her, dropping the rest of his apple in the trash and heading out the door, jumping over the bar and towards the front door. She watches him in the doorway leave, slamming the door shut behind him.

She stands there for a minute, turning to look over at the stairs, thinking over the situation for a minute. Making up her mind, she heads to the stairs, going up to the room she knew the two had been in.

Pushing the slightly ajar door open all the way, she steps in to assess the damage. Not much, both surprisingly and nicely. Her target sat on the floor by the bed, lifting his stare from the floor to her, his ruby eyes narrowing sharply.

"I'm not going away, so don't even say it," she says, walking in to sit next to him. He looks away from her, and she sighs, reaching for his hand to grab it, running her fingers through the black fur. "Hon, you two have got to figure something out. Hating each other isn't helping either of you at all."

He pulls his hand away, scowling and not meeting her gaze. "You should mind your own business."

She frowns at him. "Shadow, this is my business. You're in my home, my _work_, with me being the only one that knows about this, so yes, it is my business." She stops to move in front of him, giving him a chiding look. "Both you and Blue don't deserve this. I know you guys don't hate each other as much as you both pretend to, if at all. You guys need to suck up your pride and work something out, because you really don't have a choice here."

Shadow's brows furrow and his ears flick down as he looks at the far wall away from her. She can tell he was thinking, but his stubborn self was arguing with her and himself.

"You know I'm right," she adds.

He looks away again, not saying anything. She waits, hoping he would at least take her words into consideration. When nothing happens, she sighs. "Shadow, you've read the books, you've read the scrolls. Once two people have bonded their energy, they're bonded for life, together, and have no say or choice in the matter. You and Sonic are the only two Chaos beings left on the entire planet. His Dark connected with your Light. Look at all of the signs, hon. This happened for a reason. I may not be a specialist in Chaos, but I've done the research, you've done the research, he's done the research, and we all know that you two are stuck together, no matter what, forever, so the sooner you both grow up and deal with it, the sooner my club can stay together in one piece, and you two can live happily ever after."

He scoffs and stands up, grabbing his glove off the nightstand and skates off the floor. She watches him head to the bathroom and slam the door shut, rattling the picture frames on the walls.

She huffs out air through her nose in exhaustion, shaking her head.

"Hedgehogs," she huffs, standing up, turning to storm out of the room. "Stubborn, stubborn, stubborn, stubborn…"


	2. One - Where It Begins

**Chapter One - Where it Begins**

A flash of emerald green erupted on the sandy beach, dropping two hedgehogs with a spray of sand and water. Shadow pushed himself up to his knees, gawking at the still-midnight blue hedgehog only a few feet away from him. How was that possible? Sonic should have lost all of his dark form with that large of a Chaos Control.

Sonic felt as if his body was on fire. What had even happened? His vision was foggy and dark, and every time he opened his eyes he was blinded by an intense light. He holds his face as his ears pick up a strange sound, and he realizes that sound was his own groan. Everything hurt, and the more conscious he got the more he believed it was his own Chaos Energy hurting him.

He didn't feel right.

"Faker," he hears in his right ear and he jumps, only to be grabbed by his arm in a tight grip. "Faker, snap out of it. Wake up."

The hand that was holding on to his arm was sending a strange, warm, pleasant tingling through him that eased the pain his body was going through. He leans towards whatever it is and buries his face in something soft, wrapping his arms around the thing that was curing his pain.

Shadow's eyes widened and he stumbled back as Sonic curled into him, hugging him as if his life depended on it. The cobalt hero lets out another groan, this one not sounding as painful as the last one did.

"What the heck are you…?" the Ultimate Lifeform growls under his breath, before grabbing his counterpart by the shoulders and shaking him roughly. "Faker! Wake _up!"_

His comfort was destroyed the moment something started shaking him, and he whined at the pain that came rushing back to him. He pushes himself away from whatever it was, falling onto the sandy ground and laying there, each breath he took forced from him.

It hurt, everywhere.

Shadow just stared at the blue mess that was Sonic on the ground, wondering if something was _actually _wrong with him. His fur was flickering between cobalt and midnight blue, and his eyes were half-lidded with his emerald irises flickering in and out of sight. He was shaking and soft whines could be heard with each exhale of air, but there was no sign of him getting any better.

Shit, something _was _wrong with him, Shadow thinks bitterly. Of course something had to go wrong. Walking over, fighting the limp in his step, he kneels down next to his rival and shakes him -this time more gently- by the shoulder. Again, Sonic seemed drawn to him and reached up a hand to grab his arm, whining again as if he needed help.

He had to get him back, he thinks with a frown. With Sonic's energy the way it was, however, and his own energy drained significantly low, Chaos Control was out of the question. He was going to have to run back, and that was going to take too long.

His own home wasn't too far from here. If he took Sonic there they could at least rest enough for him to get them back to whatever was left of New Mobotropolis, contact someone and explain their situation, and see what happened while they were gone.

That was unfortunately the best route here. He really had wanted to keep his small home (it could even be considered a cabin) private, but he couldn't just leave Sonic here on the beach like this (...he actually could but…something was preventing him from doing just that).

"Dammit," he curses, leaning over to get an arm under Sonic's legs, and the other under his back to lift him up. Surprisingly, Sonic was extremely light, feeling almost like a bag of feathers in his arms. Sonic groaned with the movement and leaned his head into the biohog's white chest, wrapping one of his arms around the dark hedgehog and letting out a soft sigh.

_Something _was _very _wrong with Sonic, he noted with a roll of his eyes. He turns and takes in a deep breath, before skating off in the direction of where he knew where his house was. He didn't even have to balance himself like he usually does while carrying someone like Rouge, because Sonic didn't weigh a thing. He added it to his list of things he was honestly curious about the speed demon. He himself was created to be the Ultimate Lifeform, yet Sonic was born with the abilities no mortal mobian should even have.

'_Not to mention his ability to use Dark Chaos Energy;' _something Shadow has tried to do and failed to many times before.

His broken communicator makes a horrible buzzing sound that makes him flatten his ears as he enters the woods. He needed to find his spare one; someone was obviously trying to contact him. Sonic's was long gone, probably in the ocean. Their gloves and socks were torn up as well, along with the many cuts and bruises they had sticking parts of their fur up in odd spots. He could feel his energy trying to heal him but failing miserably. He might even have to take his inhibitors off if he didn't start regenerating soon…

He makes it to his home within ten minutes. Kicking the door open, he lets it swing closed behind him as he carries his unwanted and unconscious guest throughout the small living room area, down a small hallway and into a decently sized bedroom. He would have to destroy this house after they left. Like hell if he was letting Sonic of all people know where he lived…

He lays Sonic down on the bed and goes to search for his communicator, but is caught when Sonic grips a tight hold on him and doesn't let go.

Seriously, what was the deal with him? The striped hedgehog's eyes narrow, a scowl forming on his muzzle. "Knock it off, Faker," he huffs, prying the hero's hands off of him, before turning to begin his search. Sonic whined but didn't do much else, his dark blue aura still floating around him from his dark form.

Leaving the room to check in the kitchen, he finds his communicator there, sitting on one of the counters right next to the sink. He picks it up and turns it on, before dialing Rouge's number and waiting for her to answer.

"_Shadow? About time you picked up," _Rouge huffs as her face appears on screen, looking rattled. _"Where are you guys? Are you okay?"_

"I'm fine, but something's wrong with him," Shadow answers, watching as a red echidna joined Rouge on screen.

"_What do you mean something's wrong with him?" _Knuckles asks in a gruff, worried voice. Even Rouge looks heavily concerned, and Shadow suddenly -not sure why- feels a little guilty about being so rough with the blue hero.

"He's in and out of his dark form, is being super clingy, and is only semi-conscious," he explains, not sure what else to say. "He's alive, but incoherent."

"_Where are you?" _Rouge asks, a question Shadow was trying to avoid.

"Ten miles northwest of the Sapphire Sea," he says, not giving anymore context.

"_Shit, that's too far," _Knuckles curses, crossing his arms. _"Something's obviously wrong with his energy. Do you still have the Chaos Emeralds?"_

He inwardly flinched. No, he didn't know how to keep them together after they were used. Sonic could do it, but he said it wasn't good for the emeralds. That they needed to separate after they all came together to prevent any issues with their energies.

He didn't have even _one_.

"No," he replies almost hesitantly, to which Knuckles curses again and Rouge groans in exasperation. "What else am I supposed to do until I get him back there?" he asks, irritation evident in his tone.

"_Just keep a close eye on him," _Knuckles huffs. _"See if you can't try to balance his energy with your own. If it works, it's most likely because he's low on positive energy."_

"I'll see what I can do, and be there within six hours," he sighs, rubbing his eyes with his free hand.

"_Let us know when you're on your way," _Rouge speaks up. _"We have a huge mess over here to deal with, so whenever you feel like joining in you're more than welcome to."_

"Whatever," is the last thing Shadow says before hanging up the call, throwing the communicator back on the counter where he found it.

Screw Eggman, screw the Chaos Emeralds, screw Sonic's dumb as-

He left Sonic alone for too long. He leaves the kitchen and heads back to the room, stopping abruptly when he sees that the hero's dark aura had grown considerably since he left, and Sonic was curled up on his side, whimpering and trembling like a dying kitten.

He walks over and rests a hand on the hedgehog's arm, nearly jolting from the intensity of his Dark Chaos Energy. Sonic whines again and turns to curl into him again, and Shadow does what Knuckles had said and tries to feed him some positive energy. The moment he did, however, Sonic made a most interesting noise.

It was a mix between a purr, a whine, and a moan, and suddenly Sonic was ten times more clingy than he had been before, reaching for Shadow and trying to pull him closer. Shadow nearly trips and falls onto the bed, sitting on the edge of it as Sonic tried to nuzzle into him. The hero's face was a light pink color, and his dark aura was fading quickly.

Was...that supposed to happen?!

He didn't know, and at that point he didn't care. He also didn't understand why that..._noise _Sonic made was eating at his curiosity, or why he had the slightest urge to hear it again. There was also some odd, yet pleasing feeling creeping up his hand and arm that held on to Sonic, and it takes him a moment to realize that, as he's giving Sonic his positive energy, Sonic was trading it off with his negative.

Again, was this supposed to be happening? He didn't know. He only knew what he was taught about Chaos Energy, and that was all mostly for killing or for healing injuries. Nothing about what was happening made sense to him.

He's suddenly _tired, _unbelievably so, and has to stop himself from falling over and sleeping right next to his seemingly broken rival. It ends up happening anyway, after a few more minutes of fighting it, and Sonic's energy just felt so nice...and before he knew it, he was cuddling with the hero he claimed to hate so much.

* * *

When he woke up, multiple things occurred to him at once.

Firstly, the fact that he was in a bed, _cuddling _with a sleeping Sonic.

Secondly, his Chaos Energy, was setting his body on _fire._

It wasn't a burning fire, but it was intense, and he jolted up as it traveled through his entire body. He looks down at Sonic and sees the hedgehog's fur is still navy blue, but he seems calm and doesn't have an aura. He at least seems normal, well...besides the fact that his muzzle was stained pink for some reason.

His own face felt hot and he felt like it was hard to breathe, like his adrenaline was on full blast and he was in a metal box on a hot, summer day. He shakes the hedgehog next to him, jumping from the contact he made while doing it.

"Faker, wake up!" he snaps, and thankfully Sonic's eyes opened, and the blue hero jumped up as well.

"Wha-?! What happened?" he looks over at Shadow with wide eyes, realizing they were in a bed...for some reason _together, _and that Shadow's face was beat red, and that he himself felt...wrong. Something was wrong here…

Then his body suddenly felt as if it was going to explode, as Chaos Energy rushed through it.

He shudders, holding himself as his body started to tremble. He felt _hot, _unbearably so, and he shakes his head, trying to make sense of it.

"What h-happened?" he asks again, glaring at the black and red hedgehog who was just staring at him blankly.

"We...used Chaos Control," Shadow starts, finding it hard to talk. "You were stuck in between your normal and dark form, and we were too far from Mobotropolis to get help. I took you to my house, and tried to balance your energy with my own, but it didn't seem to have worked…"

Sonic frowns, trying to replay the memory over in his head. His dark form? He transformed?

"I went Dark?" he asks quietly, almost meekly, and Shadow rolls his eyes.

"Yes, you idiot. Nearly crushed the city as you were destroying the ships. We had to get them all out of there before everyone was killed." He watches Sonic flinch, looking down with guilt written all over his face. He feels slightly bad for berating him, and sighs. "The city is fine, as is everyone, but the doctor escaped and we lost the Chaos Emeralds."

Sonic nods, looking slightly relieved. "G-Good… J-Just...why does my energy feel like this?"

Shadow frowned, feeling it too. "I don't know, my energy is screwed up as well. Something must have happened when we used Chaos Control." He looks away, thinking of whatever could have caused it to happen. "It's possible that it was because you were in a negative form, while I was using a positive."

Sonic's eyes widen, and he looks startled about something. "We...oh no…" he suddenly tries to get up, but yelps as he nearly collapses on the ground. Shadow stares, confused as to what the hedgehog was suddenly so worried about.

"What?" he asks sharply, scowling. "What's wrong with our energy?"

"I-I need to check something!" Sonic exclaims, trying to balance himself. "Just...Just stay like...really far away from me until I figure it out!"

Why was he panicking? The striped hedgehog gets up as Sonic stumbles over to the door, injuries and all, watching him attempt to make it down the hallway.

"Wait a minute," Shadow walks over, grabbing the hero's arm. They both jumped at the energy shock, Sonic yelping and trying to pull away. The action causes the two of them to trip on each other, falling to the floor with Shadow pinning the younger hedgehog down. They both stare, wide eyed at each other, before Sonic is in full blown freaked out mode.

"Get _off! _I told you to stay away from me!"

"What do you know?!" Shadow yells back, not moving an inch. It was weird...Sonic usually had more strength than this. Was he _that _injured? Why wasn't he fighting back?

"_I said get off!" _the hero exclaims, face redder than before. "I don't know anything for sure!"

"You know _enough_," Shadow growled. "_What do you know?!"_

"_Just get off of me!"_

Dark Chaos was erupting from Sonic and his aura was back now, but every time his energy would let out a burst, so would Shadow's. Cobalt blue and golden yellow energy was clashing together, making a bright, blazing green that would put the Master Emerald to shame. Sonic looked like he was honestly trying to fight Shadow off of him, but it was as if his strength was weakened, as if he wasn't trying at _all_.

"I'll get off when you tell me what you know," the streaked hedgehog huffs. "Now _talk!"_

Sonic is gritting his teeth, scowling up at Shadow as if he was considering killing him. The Ultimate Lifeform really wondered if it was a good idea to challenge Sonic's dark form, but he wasn't going to stop until he had answers.

They glare intensely at each other for a moment, green eyes clashing against red, before Sonic turns his head away, face still red, and closes his eyes.

"I-I don't know e-everything, but...if you and I used Chaos Control at the same time….and I was using...dark energy and you were using light...then...there's a good chance our energy…" he trails off, taking in a deep breath. "...our energy bonded."

"What the hell does that mean?" Shadow frowns, watching the way Sonic's ears pinned back and he tensed.

"I...only read so much...It's explained on one of the scrolls on Angel Island...Knuckles has a bunch of them, but...one person's Dark Energy can bond with one person's Light Energy if they're evenly matched, and used at the same time. It bonds the two people together so they become dependent on each other, and they have to share Chaos Energy."

It hits him.

Professor Gerald told him about this, showed him a scroll exactly like the one Sonic was talking about…

Chaos Born were either Dark or Light, despite Gerald's attempt to make Shadow both, and would use either or when it came to energy. The fact that Sonic was both raised many questions, but his natural energy was Dark. It's said that in order to make sure balance was in place between the Chaos Born, two people, one of Dark and one of Light, would be bonded by what their energy decides and would be tied together forever, and by together...it meant mates.

If he and Sonic were bonded…

...that meant…

"No," he states, getting up and taking a step back, watching Sonic stand up. "Absolutely not," he states, crossing his arms. "I know what you're talking about. There has to be a way to fix it. I'm not going to be mates with you. I refuse."

"You...You think _I_ want this?!" Sonic yells, quills bristling and threatening to stand up. "Do you have any idea what this means for _me_? Dark Chaos Born are supposed to be submissive because our energy is stronger than yours. You think I want to submit to _you?!"_

Shadow glares at him, point taken. This would be worse for Sonic than him, but…

"You're the idiot that lost control of your energy," he snaps, "and I had to fix it! Maybe you should have listened to me instead of-!"

"Listen to you?!" Sonic interrupts. "You were going to _abandon _the city! I didn't know where Tails was, and I knew that if we didn't do something we were all going to lose! What else could we have done?!"

"Leave the damn city!" Shadow exclaims, throwing his arms up.

"And everyone in the underground shelter?!" Sonic yells back. "He would have killed them before chasing after us!"

Sonic really wasn't at fault here, but he'd be damned before he was forced to be mates with him.

"Look," Sonic huffs, rubbing his temples to fight the headache forming, "I'll go to Angel Island and go through all the scrolls and try to find a way to fix this before...before we have to do _anything…_" he flushes and looks away, not wanting to even think about- "I'm sure there's something we can do."

"Find it, then," Shadow snarls. He wished he remembered everything Gerald taught him. At the time it didn't seem important to him. Now he regretted not paying attention…

Sonic turns his head to glare at him again, Dark Energy swirling around him. "You can do some research too, _prick_, this is your problem just as much as it is mine."

"It wouldn't be if not for you," Shadow snaps back.

Sonic rolls his eyes and turns away. "Yeah, sure _asshole_. I'm leaving."

"Get the hell out, then," Shadow turns and heads back into his room, slamming the door shut.

A sonic boom erupts in the small house, followed by the sound of glass and windows shattering, the whole place threatening to shake apart, and he suddenly wants to wring the hedgehog's neck.

Oh well, he was going to destroy this place, anyway.

He walks over and sits on the edge of his bed, holding his head and staring down at the floor.

His energy felt like it was going to burn him alive…

...and he couldn't deny how much he enjoyed the way Sonic looked, flushed and pinned beneath him.

* * *

Rouge hands the scroll Sonic gave her over to Shadow, who took it and read the line that was highlighted.

They were screwed.

Getting Rouge involved was an accident. She heard them fighting in the cave Knuckles kept all the island's documents in, and decided to join in. To hear that the two rival's were supposed to be mates was a _trip _for her, and she was enjoying every second of the ride that followed.

"There's no way to undo the bond," Sonic said tiredly, rubbing his eyes. He hadn't slept in days, reading through all of the texts twice and then three times, practically memorizing it in hopes he skipped something.

Shadow throws the paper down with a muttered curse, while Rouge shrugs.

"Well, they do say everything happens for a reason," she offered, earning two dark glares in return. She goes on, ignoring them. "It says your energy will only bond if Chaos deems it fit to, and you're both bonded, so…"

"This is stupid," Sonic huffs, leaning back against the rock on the ground behind him. "It says they used Chaos Bonds to control Dark Chaos Beings, which is how the Great War started. They were turning us into slaves because they could control us."

"...and if Shadow tries to do that, I'm sure Knuckles and a few others would enjoy killing him as much as I would, darling," Rouge says sincerely, making Shadow scowl and Sonic give her a questioning look. If there was one thing Rouge hated more than anything, it was people abusing their mates and taking advantage over them. Working in a popular club showed her that it happens a lot, and it sickened her.

"You're not going to tell anyone," Sonic says in a warning tone. "I don't care who it is, you're not telling them."

She puts her hands up innocently, smiling sweetly at him. "I won't unless I have permission from you personally, Big Blue. Cross my heart."

He gives her a suspicious look but accepts it, looking back down at the papers on the floor.

There was nothing that could be done.

Sonic's situation was worse than Shadow's, with him being the Dark Chaos in the 'relationship.' Dark Chaos Born were naturally submissive, because they were stronger than Light Chaos Born. To make sure they didn't get out of hand, Chaos made it so Dark beings would automatically submit in a relationship. Once their mate's Chaos Energy contacted their's, they would lose their strength and ability to fight them off, so they were completely vulnerable. They couldn't say no if the Light being pinned them down. They couldn't fight them or do anything against them.

Sonic would have to submit to Shadow.

The only way to control each other's energy once a bond is made, was to _mate_. The thought of submitting to Shadow, letting him...do _that _to him…made Sonic want to implode on himself. It was such a knife to his ego, and it would mean that no matter what, Shadow could always overpower him.

It wasn't fair, he had thought bitterly. The whole reason the Chaos Born were wiped out was because of the Light beings taking advantage over the Dark and turning them into slaves. They could sell them to other Light beings, and put new bonds on them, and the Dark beings had no power to stop it. Chaos grew insanely upset about the Light's abusing their power, so it wiped them all out, almost exactly what it did to the echidnas that fought amongst each other.

Like Knuckles, Sonic had been the last of his kind, and was safe from the possibility of ever having to worry about a Light being.

Then Shadow shows up.

...and now _this_.

He couldn't bare the thought of mating with Shadow. Hell, the Mating Season would start the first time they did...and then it lasted for six months before they would get a year of rest, but even then in that year they would have to mate to keep their energy under control, and that was a lot of time that he would be…

His face could not feel any hotter. This was just a nightmare.

They could try to go as long as they could without mating. Try to control their energy. Maybe he could find some inhibitors for himself, to help with the pain of his energy constantly like this. It hurt, and hurt worse every day. It would hurt until he gave in and…

Shaking his head, and sighs and pushes himself up.

"I'm going home, and I'm going to bed, and I'm going to stay as far away from you as possible," he says, not even looking at Shadow. "I see you and I'm going to try and kill you."

To hear Sonic threaten someone's life… Both Rouge and Shadow were surprised, as they watched Sonic leave the cave without another word.

They exchange looks, and as Shadow scowls, Rouge can't help but chuckle, motioning towards the papers on the floor.

"We should take all these with us, just in case."


	3. Two - Not Like This

***Warnings Apply For This Chapter. For More Information, Read The Warnings Section On The First Chapter Of This Story.***

**Chapter Two - Not Like This**

Shadow looks up at the blue hedgehog standing in his doorway as he puts his inhibitors on, frowning. "I thought you didn't want to see me."

Sonic huffs, face red and ears pinned back. "I don't, but I need to borrow those."

Shadow raises a brow, before he realizes Sonic is talking about his inhibitors. So the hedgehog thought he could contain his energy like that? It was possible, if only slightly. Shadow had to admit he was grateful for the rings, because every time he took them off to shower or change, his energy would burn him alive and he would instantly think of Sonic.

Lately it's been getting worse, however. Despite how strong his rings were, they could only inhibit so much. He was starting to feel the energy even with them on, and his moods would get crankier than normal because of it.

He couldn't imagine living without them, and as his eyes swept over the navy colored hedgehog in his door, he realized Sonic must be in agonizing pain at the moment, especially since his energy was stronger than his own.

"I'm not giving them to you," Shadow looks away. Sonic rolls his eyes and crosses his arms.

"I'm not going to _keep _them. I just want to give them to Tails so he can make another set."

Shadow scoffs. "I don't care. I'm not giving them to you."

"Are you kidding me? I'm the one that held on to them for you when you _died _in space. You wouldn't even have them if not for me," Sonic glares at him, unbelieving. Shadow just had to make his life even worse, didn't he?

The black and red hedgehog doesn't seem to care, still, as he slips his skates on. "Like that matters to me." He puts on his communicator and walks up to the hero in his door, watching Sonic's eyes widen and his face darken. He could feel the other's energy, stronger than ever, and he felt his own face heat up with the prospect of just pinning Sonic against the wall and taking care of their problem himself.

Sonic doesn't move, despite leaning back on his feet, glaring stubbornly at his counterpart.

"I have work to do," Shadow starts in a low tone, "so if you don't get the hell out of my way, I'll just take you right here."

Sonic's pupils shrunk considerably after that, his quills bristling and the red on his face moving up to his pinned-back ears. He felt a heat travel through his body, and he suppressed a shudder at what that exactly meant.

"I'll give them back by the end of today," he tries, hoping Shadow wouldn't carry out his threat. Those red eyes narrowed back at him, and it took everything in his power to stand his ground. "It won't be for long, I _swear_. Then we can continue staying as far away from each other as possible, because I certainly don't like having to even be here right now."

He thought when Shadow raised his arms that he was going to do the unthinkable, but to his surprise the biohog took off the rings and threw them at him, growling as he spoke.

"I want them back by midnight, that's it. If I don't have them by then, I'm killing you."

Then he's being shoved out of the way, and Shadow is storming down the hallway, out of sight as he goes down the stairs.

That...could have been much, much worse…

* * *

"You...want me to make you inhibitors?"

Sonic had a feeling he was going to have to lie his way around _why _he needed inhibitors. It shouldn't be too hard, considering everyone was looking at him funny because his fur was significantly darker than usual.

"I'm having a hard time with my energy," Sonic explains, rubbing the back of his head uncomfortably. Tails exchanges looks with Nicole, who studied him carefully.

"Is that why you've been acting and...looking different for the past couple of weeks?" his little brother asks, names sakes swishing curiously behind him. Sonic sighs, nodding.

"Yeah, I don't know what it is. Ever since the battle I just can't control my Dark Energy. I don't know what to do and I don't want to go Dark again…"

"Why didn't you say something sooner?" Nicole says chidingly. "We could have helped you sooner."

"I…" Sonic crosses his arms, not sure what to say. _'Because I was dealing with the fact that I'm going to have to eventually get screwed _literally _by my rival?'_

"I should have figured it out sooner," Tails speaks up, saving him from answering. "Knuckles said something was wrong after he and Shadow used Chaos Control. You seemed fine when you got back, though."

"I was," he shrugged, trying to play along, "but now it's like I just can't control it at all."

"Sonic," speaks up a voice from behind them, and they turn to see Uncle Chuck and Rotor standing there in the doorway to the lab. "I have a theory I've been working on about you," the older of the two say, and Sonic had to keep calm, because it couldn't _possibly _be that he figured out what was going on…

"What's that?" his voice almost cracked. Almost.

"I started thinking on it before that last battle, back when Eggman was still our prisoner," Chuck explained, and Sonic felt slightly relieved. "One of the times I spoke with him, he said something rather interesting." He stands beside his nephew, noticing that the hero was now slightly taller than him. "He said something about you being the 'embodiment of Chaos.'"

"What does that mean?" Sonic frowned, as both Tails and Nicole's eyes lit up.

"It means that you are a physical form of Chaos," Chuck explains, frowning, "and it would make sense considering a few factors."

"You mean to say, Sonic could be made entirely out of Chaos Energy?" Nicole asks, eyes darting between both hedgehogs. Sonic blinks, taken aback.

"I'm what?"

"I'd have to run a few tests to be sure," Chuck says, "it would take some time to set up, but it's something we should look into. Sonny, there's a chance you're not completely mobian anymore. You have so much Chaos Energy, and it's only growing stronger, that in so many years, you could be completely made out of energy. You wouldn't even take injuries…" He takes a second to finish, watching the expression on his nephew's face go from surprised to shocked. "You would be immortal."

He'd be…

It might be because he hadn't eaten that day, or the information really shocked him, but he suddenly felt lightheaded, and nearly fell backwards if Rotor hadn't been standing there to catch him.

"Sonic?" Tails exclaims, worry filling the room as the hero nearly fainted.

"I wouldn't…" Sonic mumbles, holding the side of his head as Rotor supported him.

"Easy, buddy, don't think too much of it," the purple walrus says, while Chuck takes a damp rag Nicole gave him and wipes the Blue Blur's forehead with it.

"I know it's a lot to take in, Sonny, but yes, you wouldn't die. You wouldn't age, you would be living, breathing Chaos Energy. I'm not sure why you're like this, or if this is even true, yet, but if there is a way to stop this, if...you want to stop this, I need to do some tests and it needs to be done soon."

Sonic shakes his head, trying to stand up on his own, pushing his uncle away. "I need to...I need to think about this…" he mumbles, holding the side of his head. He would live forever…immortal…

That's why…!

Shadow was immortal. Shadow had a lot of Chaos Energy. Shadow didn't age. Shadow would never…

He bonded with Shadow because they were exactly alike.

They were both immortal, both powerful Chaos Born that would never die…

Oh, this was bad…

If he didn't get this fixed, or didn't find a way to fix this, he would be stuck with Shadow forever...but…

What if they found a way to stop this? Would the bond break between them? It was possible, but he wouldn't know for sure.

To be immortal, he would never have to worry about dying in battle, he would be able to live and protect Mobius as long as he wanted. He could better protect his friends, and not have to worry about what could happen…

...but he would never die. His friends would all grow old and eventually pass, and he would be left alone…

...left alone with _Shadow_, of all people…

"Take as much time as you need, Sonny," Chuck says softly. "I know it's a big decision, but I'm sure you will be fine for a couple more years. Take the time to think on it. We can do the tests whenever you're ready."

"I'll make those inhibitors," Tails said, holding them up with an encouraging smile. "You said you need them by tonight?"

Sonic nods, finding it hard to talk.

"Go eat, rest, and run, Sonic," Chuck smiles at him. "You look like you need to."

"Y-Yeah," he mumbles, turning away. He ran out quickly, his mind swirling.

It was just one thing after the other…

* * *

Rouge kept staring at him, but the expression on her face was unreadable.

It was starting to get annoying.

"What is your problem?" he finally asks, glaring over at her. Her mouth pulls into a thin line, and she shakes her head.

"I'm worried about Blue," she admits. "Why are you being so harsh with him? He doesn't deserve it."

"It's none of your concern," he looks away, scowling.

"I can't help what I'm concerned about, sunshine," she frowns. "Seeing you both like this worries me. You guys were getting along so well just before…"

He tisks and looks out the window of the helicopter they were in, watching as they flew out of the city. G.U.N. was sending them to Adabat, where they would be investigating an underwater base the doctor supposedly had there. There was a chance of scoring a Chaos Emerald, so all three members of Team Dark were shipped out immediately. They would be meeting Omega at the rendezvous point.

"You only worry about things that will benefit you," he says snappily. "So I don't want to hear anything you have to say about the matter."

"Ow, the edge," she mutters under her breath, looking out her own window with narrowed eyes. "You're lucky I love you like family, otherwise I would have left you by your emo-self."

He ignores her, tuning out all the noises around him. His energy was burning and he felt his patience run thin. Sonic better have those inhibitors back on time, otherwise he was going to lose his shit. He'd take the hedgehog if he didn't get those back on time, so the faker had better be quick.

He feels a harsh tap on his shoulder and looks up with blazing ruby eyes, earning a dark glare from Rouge in return. "We're nearing the drop zone, _sunshine, _get ready."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

He ate like he was told, then packed a bookbag filled with texts from Angel Island and left the rebuilding city of Mobotropolis, heading to find a nice, quiet place to read by himself.

He finds a field and a nice tree to sit under, going through the pages of old text, hoping to get new information. He shoved the thought of him being immortal to the back of his head, focusing on the problem at hand. Shadow was too big of an issue to worry about anything else. He'd deal with his own issues once this one was solved.

He reads what he can from the faded words, learning more about the Great War and how it started. Apparently the old Queen of Mobius learned that she could control her King's Dark Chaos Energy, and was keeping him locked up in her room, torturing him and doing whatever she wanted with him. When word came out about it, a fight ensued, and the Chaos Born were divided. Laws came down that Light Chaos Born could then own Dark Chaos Born, and slavery began. They would put bonds on the Dark Chaos beings and sell them to each other, creating new bonds when they were sold to new masters. They could be bonded by only one person at a time, but it seemed that bond could change if they were taken by a new Light being.

A rebellion started to form after so many years, made up of both Dark Chaos and Light Chaos Born who were disgusted and tired of the slavery. They began attacking cities and saving the slaves, and eventually war broke out.

The war lasted for one hundred years. The royal family continued down the family line, until Chaos itself grew tired of it all and just wiped them all out. Normal blood mobians took over Mobius, then, with only a tiny fragment of Chaos Energy in each of them from their ancestors.

Sonic didn't understand why he was the way he was. It wasn't like his own parents were Chaos Born. Then again, every time he brought it up they would always fidget and turn away from him, as if they knew something he didn't. Maybe he should talk to them about it...or even Chuck. They were hiding _something _from him. Why would after hundreds of years a random Chaos being would be born like that? It didn't add up to him.

He finds a page describing the bond between a Dark and Light being, and he sits up. This was what he was looking for!

'_Once a bond has been created,' _he reads to himself, _'it cannot be destroyed. Even if a new bond is created between another Chaos Born, the Chaos Energy within that Dark Born will forever remember the signature of the one they were bonded with. That bond will be there forever, running through their Chaos Energy no matter what is done. It is read like DNA, and cannot be taken out.'_

That...was bad news. So...there really was no way to get rid of his bond with Shadow? It would be there forever? What if...what if he went with the process of removing his immortality? Would he lose the bond that way? Could it be possible?

'_A bond is created to connect two Chaos Born permanently for as long as they both live. It was created to be a sacred arrangement to balance both Light and Dark Chaos between two beings who fell in love. Once the Light Born realized they could use it to control Dark Born, it became a weapon._

'_A bond can be formed in multiple different ways. If two use their opposite energies together for the same purpose, at the same time, it automatically bonds them so the energy can be used together…'_

"I'm such an idiot…" he mutters, closing his eyes. If he hadn't been in his Dark form when they used Chaos Control, this wouldn't have happened in the first place. He skips ahead, praying there was at least _some _hope for him.

'_If a bond is created unwillingly, there is yet nothing that can be done to undo it. If the bond is not followed through, both Chaos Born will suffer extreme attacks from their own energy. Once they are bonded, they must rely on sharing energy with each other, or they will suffer great pain in consequence.'_

Well, he already knew _that _one, but he was sure it wasn't as bad as it was going to get.

'_The longer the two Chaos Born go without following their bond, the more pain it will cause. There have been records of Chaos Born losing their sanity, their abilities to function, and even losing their lives over refusing to following a bond. It is very important the bond is followed once created.'_

Of course, he thinks bitterly.

'_A bond is followed through by the two Chaos Born performing acts of intimacy and sex.'_

His face reddens to the color of his shoes, and he bites his lip as he continues reading.

'_The first act of intimacy will start the Mating Season of the two Chaos Born, which lasts up to six or seven months of time. The spontaneousness of the events, will defer by the strength of their combined Chaos Energy. Once the Mating Season has passed, they are given a year before the next season takes place. Throughout this year, depending on the strength of their combined energy, acts of intimacy may have to take place throughout to keep stability of their energy.'_

Well, that was just great. If Shadow really was the Ultimate Lifeform, and Sonic really was the embodiment of Chaos, then their energy together was going to be insane. He shuddered as he continued reading.

'_Once the first act of intimacy has taken place, the next acts take place when the Dark Chaos Born develops a heat. A heat prepares the Dark Chaos Born for the next act of intimacy, including…'_

"Nope!" he exclaims weakly, putting the paper aside and taking in a deep breath, face hot and body uncomfortable. He closes his eyes, ears bent backwards.

He wanted to scream.

He wanted to cry.

He wanted to let his energy take him on a killing spree.

This…

This wasn't _fair._

Why on Mobius did this have to happen to _him? _What did he do to deserve this?

It felt like someone had stabbed him through the back with a knife.

His freedom was gone. His independence was gone. He would have to give his life, his _body, _to someone who hated him with everything in their being. Shadow would use this to his advantage. Hell, he already was, just with that threat this morning. To be immortally stuck with Shadow, never having a say over himself anymore and giving up the one thing he worked so hard for…

He decided he will go through the tests to see if his uncle was right. Talk to his parents to see what they knew. He needed to get more information before he made his decision. He had a couple years, right? He had plenty of time to decide…

It wasn't like this thing with Shadow was going to get any better, though…

He tried to picture it; he and Shadow actually liking each other, in a relationship, in _love. _He just couldn't. Shadow hated him without end, and he was starting to hate the other more and more every day now. It'd be a miracle if it actually worked out between them…

He slumps back against the tree, feeling exhaustion creep up with him. His body hurt, but with how tired he was, he hoped he could sleep for once without the pain keeping him up.

He put all the papers in his bag, and used it as a back support as he laid back against the tree and closed his eyes, telling himself he'd only sleep for a few hours.

* * *

It was dark when he woke up.

"Shit!" he exclaims, panic starting to flow through him as he looked at the time and saw that it was only two minutes to twelve.

Shadow was going to be pissed.

How tired _was _he? Did he really sleep that long? He grabs his bag and races back to Mobotropolis, heart hammering in his chest. He begged whatever gods were out there that Tails was done with the inhibitors and he could get them back to Shadow before midnight…

He doubted it.

Half a minute had already passed when he bursted in his brother's lab, asking if the rings were done before Tails could process that he was even there.

"Sonic?!"

"I need the rings! Shadow needs them back, I mean," he explains, hoping he didn't look as worried as he was. Tails gives him a weird look, before grabbing the rings off the desk by his computer and handing him two sets, one gold and one a sky blue color.

"Here, you-..."

"Thanks bro you're the best!" Sonic yells as he turns and runs out, leaving Tails standing there looking dumbfounded.

The blue hero ran like his life depended on it through the fields outside of Mobotropolis, not even looking at his communicator to know that it was already after midnight. He hoped Shadow wasn't home yet, hoped the G.U.N. mission lasted longer than it-

Then something crashed into his back.

He lets out a surprised yelp as he's suddenly rolling, pain flaring in his back as he hits the ground, hard, inhibitors flying out of his hands on the ground next to him.

"You're late," he hears the husky, dark tone of his rival, and he curses a million words through his head as he sits up, rubbing his back. He was pretty sure he was hit with a Chaos Spear.

"Oh, it's not that big of a deal," he huffs, watching Shadow pick up his rings and snap them on, glancing at the light blue ones laying on the ground.

"Not that big of a deal?" Shadow asks, sounding ticked beyond belief. "You got to sleep all day," he says then, voice lowering as he dropped to a knee in front of the blue hero still sitting on the ground. Sonic's eyes widen as Shadow grabs his muzzle roughly, forcing him to meet his eyes. "...while I was forced to fight the doctor with no inhibitors, and my energy burning me alive. So, faker…" he suddenly forces Sonic backwards, causing the hedgehog to wince in pain as his back hit the ground again, Shadow pinning him down in between his legs and looming over him menacingly. "...tell me again it's not that big of a deal."

His heart was racing so fast he felt as if it was going to explode out of his chest. Shadow's energy was mingling with his, making him hot all over and his body tremble with the dark hedgehog sitting over him, leaving him with nowhere to go. He couldn't even fight him; his energy wouldn't allow it. Shadow wouldn't...would he? There's no way...he wouldn't…

He opened his mouth to speak, but found his voice not wanting to work. What was he supposed to say to that? He was sorry? Like hell if he did that, his pride was already shot to begin with. Shadow waited for him to speak, but Sonic snapped his mouth back shut stubbornly. It wasn't like he could argue with him though, either.

"That's what I thought," Shadow growled, leaning down to speak in his ear. "You have no idea," he hissed, causing Sonic to shudder. He could feel the other's breath on his ear, making it flick and twitch, more heat spreading through him and starting to focus on a certain area below. Oh Chaos, make it _stop… _"...what I had to go through today," the biohog continued. "I told you to have them back by midnight. You should have brought them to me as soon as they were finished. Instead you slept all day without a problem, while I had to _wait_."

It would seem Shadow was enjoying this power over him. Sonic swallowed and turned his head, feeling pathetic. He couldn't even find the will to talk back. He was terrified and so pride-hurt it was breaking him apart.

"I'm starting to get tired of this," Shadow continued, voice practically a growl. "Every damn day I have to deal with this energy, when the solution to the problem is right _fucking _beneath me. Give me one reason why I shouldn't just take you right now and be _done _with it."

Sonic swallowed before he finally forced himself to speak, hating how shaky his voice was. "I-It won't be d-done with… W-We're stuck like th-this…"

"And you expect me to wait until you die to not feel like this?" Shadow sneered. "I'll be damned if I have to go another _day _like this."

Sonic turns his head, glaring up at him weakly. "Y-You're the one that t-told me to find a way to fix it! I've been t-trying!"

Shadow glared back down at him. "It's been almost a month, hedgehog! How much longer do you think we can go?! Either I kill you or fuck you, and if you don't give an answer now, I'll decide for you!"

Sonic flinched, turning his head away, his heart now loud in his own ears. He was going to have a panic attack at this point. He couldn't...not this...he just couldn't…

"G-Give me some time…just a little more…" his voice was bordering that of a strained whisper. "Just a little more t-time...I might...I might have a way to fix it...I j-just need a little more…"

"Explain," Shadow orders, not leaving any room for argument. Sonic felt fear jolt through his chest like lightning. He didn't want to tell him he was immortal. He was honestly afraid to. If he didn't, though, Shadow would just…

"M-My uncle thinks I-I'm…" he starts, taking in a deep breath, trying to steady himself, "h-he thinks I'm...immortal…" he can see Shadow's brows fly up before narrowing in the corner of his eyes as he quickly continues. "B-But there may be a way to f-fix it! H-He might be able to get rid of my immortality and then if I'm n-not immortal, or lose my energy, then t-the bond might b-be broken!" he exclaims, hoping Shadow didn't jump to conclusions. The black and red hedgehog stares down at him, face unreadable.

"You're immortal," he states, as if processing it out loud. Sonic gives a shaky nod.

"Y-Yeah… W-Well...there's a good chance… He has to do some tests first to see for s-sure…"

Shadow looks away, brows furrowed. "Then I can't kill you."

"W-What?" Sonic asks before thinking. Shadow was actually going to kill him? Was he crazy?!

"The tests will take time," Shadow looks back at him with narrowed eyes. "And then it will take more _time _to figure out how to remove it...and then it will take _even more time_ to actually go through with it. How _long _do you think that's going to take?"

Sonic felt his throat thicken. He wanted time to think on it...if he gave up his immortality...his Chaos Energy...wouldn't that go, too? He wouldn't be able to use the Chaos Emeralds, and in fights with Eggman...he'd be down those abilities…

...and his speed...did his speed have anything to do with his Chaos Energy?

What if the process killed him? Eggman would take over Mobius…

Shadow wasn't giving him any options. This...this wasn't fair…

"J-Just give me a little time to think, Shadow!" Sonic exclaims. "I j-just found out today! I don't even know what I w-want right now!"

"You think I care what you want?" Shadow sneers.

Those words hurt him deeper than he would like to admit.

Shadow really didn't care. He really, truly hated him.

...and this was his mate, he was stuck with for all eternity.

He wouldn't be able to make things up with Sally and possibly marry her. Wouldn't be able to find love with someone else if that didn't work out.

He was stuck with someone who hated him, would hurt him to solve their own problems…

"S-Shadow...just a couple days…" he tried in a weak voice. "T-That's all I'm asking…"

'_Please, just a couple of days. Don't make me beg. Don't do this to me…'_

Shadow scowls at him, his eyelids falling halfway as he stared down at him.

"I don't think so."

* * *

Rouge cursed under her breath as she sat down on her couch, holding her temples. She had fought with Shadow to just wait till morning, leave Sonic alone...but he took off, pissed as all hell and ready to shed blood.

Chaos, she hoped Sonic would be okay. If those old texts were true, though, she doubted it. He couldn't fight Shadow, because his energy would take control over his body and not allow him to. If Shadow pinned him and...Sonic wouldn't be able to do anything about it…

She stood up quickly, turning on her communicator. She could track Shadow's own communicator, follow him and hopefully stop him before he hurt Sonic.

They both ran so fast, though...she hoped she could get there on time...

* * *

"W-Wait!" he cried out, as Shadow suddenly leaned down and nipped on his neck. The moment those sharp teeth met his skin he felt his energy explode between them. A hot feeling coursed through his body, up to the tips of his ears, down to his toes, and settling strongly in between his legs and lower stomach.

Oh, _no, no no no…_

"Sh-Shadow, w-wait!" he was really panicking now. He arched his back and kicked a leg weakly, but couldn't even lift his arms. He felt sapped of all his power, not able to work his muscles to fight the other off of him.

This was all kinds of wrong…

Shadow's teeth clenched down harder, and the blue hero let out another cry, the throbbing pressure between his legs unbearable. He felt so hot, so broken, it was starting to cause him to lose his mind.

Shadow is spreading his legs and sliding a hand under his lower back, lifting it off the ground, joining their hips in a fiery touch that had them both gasping. Shadow's fur had a flick of gold to it as his energy reacted to Sonic's, and that emerald green that happened the first time their energy reacted to each other came back, sparking between them like a match about to go off in flames.

Feeling Shadow grind against him set the fear into full swing, and he cried out in pure terror.

"_Sh-Shadow please! Don't! Don't do this!"_

He couldn't bare it. He didn't want this. He didn't want to give this up…

Shadow paused, pulling away from his neck, turning Sonic's face to meet his own.

"I'll do what I want," he snarls, making Sonic whimper. "It's your own damn fault this is happening, so suck it up and deal with it."

No…

"_You asshole!" _Sonic yells out, turning his head away and squeezing his eyes shut tight. It _was _his fault...he thinks to himself. It still wasn't...it _wasn't…_

Shadow grinds them together again, making him whine and arch, the hot feeling aching in between his legs and the pressure building quickly. His Chaos Energy seemed to enjoy making him suffer, and Shadow's was just as strong as it reacted against his. He kept his eyes tightly closed as he felt Shadow's teeth go back to biting his neck, before those dark hips snapped against his own, painfully hard, and sent him into a frenzy as his energy and body reacted instantly.

"_AHH!" _he practically shrieks, feeling something odd happen down south other than him getting aroused, as a clear, wet liquid started leaking between his legs, coming from right underneath his tail...

He...he was…

Shadow seemed to realize it too, at the exact same time it processed in Sonic's mind.

Sonic was in heat.

It shouldn't have happened until after their first time, but it seemed his body had other plans. Maybe this was his energy finding pity on him. It would have hurt so much worse if not, and he didn't think Shadow planned on preparing him for what was to come…

"Now," Shadow huffs into his ear, "now we _have _to finish."

Even with his eyes open he could barely see. Barely process what was happening. All he could think about now was _Shadow over _him, _Shadow grinding against _him, _Shadow touching _him, _Shadow, Shadow, Shadow_…

He knew it was his Chaos Energy forcing him to submit like this, but he still felt awful. It was forcing him to _want _and _need _Shadow in every way, shape and form, and he wasn't strong enough to fight it. He had melted completely in Shadow's hold and couldn't do a damn thing to stop it from happening.

He told himself he didn't want this, but his energy and body most certainly did, and they didn't care what he thought on the matter.

He's taken by surprise when he realizes his member was out, fully erected in between the two of them, and then again when he realizes Shadow's is, too. He's mortified by himself losing control, and then of what was going to happen next. The hole underneath his tail was _throbbing _because of his heat, and he couldn't even tense up when he felt Shadow's tip press against it; his energy was keeping his body completely relaxed.

Shadow doesn't even give him time to ready himself, doesn't say a word before he's thrusting in, and Sonic can't stop the shocked scream from leaving his throat as he's penetrated. Their energy was bursting around them, blazing away the grass and burning a bright green. Shadow cursed and grabbed a tight hold around Sonic, pulling out just to thrust back in. Sonic was tight, and silky soft, wet from his heat and every time he thrusted forward he was rewarded with pure Chaos Energy, and even he couldn't stop the shaky moan that left his tans lips.

"_Ah...ahhhh!" _Sonic meowed out, face stained red and sweat matting his dark blue fur. It hurt, so bad, but the pleasure was there and it was contrasting against the pain in an intense feeling he couldn't handle. He couldn't understand it, his body couldn't take it, and his energy was a fury because of it.

"L-Louder," Shadow growls in his ear, snapping his hips forward, harder and faster with each pant that left him. Sonic gasped and arched, fingers clawing the grass apart beneath him as his eyes opened and squeezed shut, trying to find an outlet for the feelings. Shadow growls and rocks forward hard, hitting a hot spot inside the hero and making Sonic let out a loud, crying moan.

He rears back and slams back into the hedgehog's prostate again, nailing it dead on and making Sonic bend in his hold, tears now leaving the corners of his eyes. _"AhhhhhssShhhaddddowwwww!"_ he screams, after again another thrust has him _dying_.

Heat was just _exploding _through his stomach and tingling his entire form, the pressure building and threatening to push him over the edge. Every thrust _hurt, _but it also felt _good, _and he was confused and ready for it to be over, but giving that up to Shadow…

The Ultimate Lifeform curses and buries his face in the crook of Sonic's neck, groaning and unable to stop the moans that followed. It was just too good...too much… He had never felt such intense energy, such intense feeling before in his life… It was a better feeling than having all seven Chaos Emeralds...and when Sonic cried out and called his name, it just made it all the better.

"_Ahh! I-I c- I can't…!" _Sonic cried, his arms reaching up to grab onto the ebony hedgehog's shoulders, leaning up to bury his face in his white chest fur. He was going to lose it… _"Shadowww!"_

Then Shadow grabs him by the back of his head, a fist full of quills as he yanks his head backwards, forcing Sonic to arch his back off the ground and give him that perfect opportunity to slam straight into that spot one more time.

Sonic squeaked and Shadow sputtered out a series of curses as they both fell over the edge, panting and shaking as the biohog slowed his thrusts to a stop. Sonic was mewling and whining, body shuddering violently with aftershocks, each breath that left him heavy and huffed, while Shadow suddenly felt lightheaded, cursing as he pulls out, holding onto Sonic tightly as if his life depended on it.

They both laid there, trying to pull themselves together. Sonic's fur faded back into its normal cobalt color for the first time since the bond happened, and Shadow finally felt relief flood his system. He felt no pain for the first time in a month.

He was the first of the two to recover, pushing himself up and staring down at the whimpering hedgehog he just screwed, realization suddenly hitting him like a truck at full speed.

He just raped Sonic.

What the hell had he been thinking?!

He was so tired and aggravated of his pain that he didn't for once think about what Sonic felt… He even told him he didn't care about what he thought. Sonic even _begged _him...all he had to do was give him a few days…

"S-Sonic…" he starts, reaching a hand up to grab the side of the hedgehog's muzzle. Sonic turned away, ears bent back as tears ran down his face.

"_G-Go away! Get the h-hell away from me!"_

He froze, watching as Sonic let out another sob, his body shuddering with it as he tried to catch his breath. He looked like he was hyperventilating...

"Sonic, I-"

"_I said go a-away! Leave me alone! I f-fffucking hate you!" _the hero yells, not even looking at him.

Why did those words hurt him so much?

He...wasn't supposed to care...but he wasn't supposed to hurt him, either…

This whole bond was going to drive them crazy…

What would… What would Maria have thought of him?

She'd hate him too. She would be disgusted by him. She would disown him.

No...that...she would never…

He curses and pushes himself away from the blue hero, stumbling to his feet and holding his spinning head. Sonic curled up on his side, facing away from him, trying to control his breathing and get a handle on himself again. Shadow stood, watching, feeling a void open up in his chest that was much bigger than before.

What has he done?

...but Sonic wanted to be left alone...he...wouldn't have had to do that if Sonic had controlled his Dark form...it wasn't his fault...he had no choice...Sonic would have fought him no matter what…

Yes, it wasn't his fault. He was just doing what needed to be done.

Fine, he thinks, stumbling back a few more steps. Sonic wanted to be left alone. He would leave him alone.

The hero himself curses and whines as his body shuddered again, and he choked on another sob. He couldn't get himself to calm down. It was as if his own energy was fighting him for control over his own body. He kept telling himself to breathe, to stop crying, to get up, to do something, but his body wouldn't listen. Did his energy control him that much? Did it have some kind of mind of his own?

...but it wasn't just his energy, anymore. It was Shadow's, too. They were connected, they had the same energy, now. Maybe Shadow was subconsciously controlling him, now. Maybe he was doing it on purpose…

He felt a breeze dash passed him, and it only took a second to realize Shadow had left him alone, just as he asked.

...but he really didn't want to be alone.

He could only curl up more, and cry himself to sleep.

* * *

He woke up with a gasp, feeling bedsheets beneath him. He tried to sit up but cried out when pain prevented him from doing so, his head falling back on the pillows and his mind rushing back to what had happened last night.

Shadow…

"Sonic?"

He turns his head and sees Rouge walk in the room, sitting on the edge of the bed and gently holding the side of his face. "Blue, honey? Are you alright?"

She was so sweet, and soft, and kind, and no he wasn't alright, and...and Shadow needed to die...and he lost control over himself, and everything was just…

He doesn't realize he's crying until Rouge pulls him up and into a warm hug, petting through his quills and whispering softly to him.

"I know, sweetheart, I know…" she murmured, and he couldn't stop the sob that left him because she was just so nice to him...and he really needed someone right now…

"It's okay, I'm here for you, darling…" she goes on, trying to contain her anger.

She was going to kill Shadow.

Fuck, she wished she hadn't promised to keep this whole thing a secret. She could really use a hand in kicking his ass. She could probably tell Omega, but being a robot he wouldn't understand or probably care. She really wanted to tell Knuckles, but he would just rip Shadow limb from limb and everyone would find out, and Sonic didn't need more drama than he had right now.

Sonic's cries are quiet and barely audible. She assumed it was because he was trying to not cry and pull himself together, but he wasn't going to be able to do that anytime soon, not with what just happened. She was going to have to do more research about Chaos Born, see if there was anything she could do to help him. See if there was a way for him to fight Shadow when he had to, or control the heats he was now going to start having unwillingly.

Her problems use to consist of how she was going to get the gems or information she wanted, always in her best interest. She's never cared for anyone as much as she cared for Sonic now, and now her problems were to find a way to make Shadow suffer as much as possible and help Sonic get over this, all the while keeping it a secret until Sonic gave her the go.

The hedgehog in her arms is shaking miserably, and she sighs, closing her eyes and resting her chin on top of his head. "I know, Sonic. We're going to figure this out, kick his ass, and find a way to help you. I promise I won't stop until this is settled."

She wasn't used to taking care of other people like this. Maybe being a club owner has softened her up, or possibly her admiration of a certain echidna, or her respect for the blue hero. She didn't know, and at that point, she guessed it didn't really matter, because she was the only one that could help Sonic now.


	4. Three - Calling the Truce

**Chapter Three - Calling the Truce**

He was laying on his side when she walked in with a glass of water, facing the wall away from her. She notices his quills are all tensed and pointed out like a trap of spikes, as if he was worried someone would sneak up on him. She didn't have the heart to tell him they wouldn't do a thing against Shadow.

"Hey, baby-Blue, drink this," she calls softly, sitting on the edge of the bed. He was refusing food and water earlier, but maybe now he would at least try to get something in his system. He doesn't budge, however, his ears quirking back and the scowl deepening on his face, eyes still closed.

With a sigh the bat girl sets the cup of water down on the nightstand, before flapping her wings to get over the hedgehog and lay on her side next to him, facing him. There wasn't much space there for her up against the wall, but she got comfortable anyway and threw an arm around the hero, pulling him in for a hug. His eyes snap open and his face reddens instantly, when his face is practically smashed into the abino's large chest. He closes his eyes, his scowl returning, and she chuckles, pressing a soft peck on his head.

"How're you feeling, Blue?" she asks, her voice quiet, "...and don't say, 'fine,' either. That's a dirty word that means there's obviously something wrong."

"Annoyed," he mumbles, the first thing he's said since waking up. She smiles, taking that as a victory.

"What else?" she continues to pry, loosening her hold on him so she can see his face. He meets her eyes, frowning at her, and she notices the red in his eyes was gone, and he seemed to be under control of his emotions again.

"Tired," he mutters, his tone just slightly above a whisper. She chuckles again, pointing a finger at his chest, or specifically his heart.

"I mean here, darling. Get those emotions out. There's really no point in hiding them from me at this point."

He seems uncomfortable, but sighs and closes his eyes, knowing there really was no point in hiding them from her. She's already seen him cry, and probably in the worst state he's ever been. How come it was always her that was finding him like this? When he first went Dark, she was there, she was the one that found him, panicking in a mess of destroyed robot, hyperventilating because he had _no idea _what was going on around him. She stayed with him until he calmed down, and helped him out of there.

Then there was the last fight with Sally, where he found the princess locking lips with St. John, who decided to come back at the _best _of times. He sat at her bar and talked her head off, first in tears, second in anger, and then he just hung out with her the rest of the night on her couch, the two watching comedies and laughing about dumb things that happened in missions and day-to-day events.

...and now this…

She was starting to become a sisterly-mother to him. Where his mom lacked the social skills and seemed too awkward to be a mom to begin with, Rouge pulled down all the boundaries and took care of him like a mother would.

She admitted once she didn't really understand her care for him, especially since she honestly didn't really care too much about others, but that she just couldn't help it and was fine with it.

"Aggravated," he admits, and she nods in understanding.

"Go on, darling, get it all out."

For some reason, once he started, he couldn't stop. "Pissed off, upset, irritated, I want to kill him, I hate this, I hate myself for not being able to do anything about it." He pauses to wipe his eyes, while Rouge pets through his quills. "I want to run and hide somewhere, or slam my head repeatedly into something until I go into a coma… I can't control my emotions...I can't control myself...I can't even…" he stops himself with a shaky intake of breath, as she pulls him into another hug. "I can't even fight him...I don't have a say in anything...I can't tell anyone or it's going to cause more problems...I...found out I'm immortal…"

She blinks in surprise and pulls away from him, meeting his shaky emerald eyes. "You're what?"

"Immortal," he huffs. "Apparently my energy is so strong I can't die."

"When did you find this out?" she asks, unable to contain the shock on her face. He closes his eyes, his brows knitting together.

"Yesterday morning. My uncle told me. He has to do some tests to see if it's true for sure, but…"

"Does…" she starts, trying to process this. "Does Shadow know?"

Saying his name seemed to snap something in Sonic, because his ears flew back and flattened against his head. "I didn't want to tell him...but I didn't have a choice…"

He hated those words.

He's never had to give up like that before, or do something against his will. He's always had the power to fight it, fight back…

"He was going to kill me if I didn't…if I didn't choose to submit..." he continues...voice shaky. Rouge stares with wide eyes as he goes on. "When I told him I couldn't die he just…"

That son of a bitch…

Rouge closes her own eyes and takes in a deep breath, trying to contain her anger. "I'm sorry, Blue…"

He shrugs, letting out another shaky breath. "It's not like there's anything that can be done about it, now…"

He sounds like he's given up, and that really bothers her. She presses another kiss on his forehead and holds him close. "Maybe not, darling, but we're going to find a way to smooth this out as best as we can. We're not going to let him take advantage over you like this, and we're going to make sure this goes as good as it can for you."

"Hmm."

She can tell he doubts it, and she slightly does, too, but they needed to be determined about this. Both hedgehogs were going to have to force this to work, especially in these next six months.

She still wasn't going to be happy with Shadow when he showed up, though.

"Drink your water, sweetheart," the bat says quietly, after laying with the cobalt hero for almost a half hour. "I'm going to go make you some food." She presses another kiss on his forehead before she gets up, watching him sigh and sit up to grab the glass. "Try not to be so grumpy," she pats his head, making him roll his eyes. "It doesn't suit you, Sonic. Everytime you're unhappy, I get unhappy, and then we're both no good to each other."

There's a hint, just a tiniest bit of a smile there, but it's gone as he drinks his water, looking away from her. She puts her hands on her hips, smiling at him.

"A for effort, I suppose. Rest up, darling, and you're more than welcome to stay here as long as you need to, especially when you have to be around that asshole," she says, before frowning curiously. "Do...you know when your heats are supposed to start?"

His face reddens and he looks away, shrugging. "I don't know…" he mumbles. "I've already had o-one…"

Already? She frowns, thinking back to the papers. She needed to keep reading so she knew what to expect. If he was in heat before Shadow even took him, then there was something she needed to figure out.

"I'll look into it," she offers quietly. "I recommend staying here anytime you guys have to...you know…" she doesn't want to really bring it up, and with the way he avoids her as his ears flatten and his face darkens, she can tell he doesn't even want to think about it. "Just until you can trust him enough to not be near me when it's going down."

"That'll never happen," he mutters, closing his eyes and falling back down on the pillow.

She studies him for a moment, wondering if she should try to console him any more, but decides he really needs to eat, and she turns, stopping in the doorway to glance back at him. "Sleep, shower, do what you need to, darling. I'll be back up in a little bit."

* * *

When he arrived at Club Rouge, the bat girl herself was standing in the kitchen, cleaning up what looked to be breakfast. She doesn't even look up at him, but her large white ears flick at the sound of him in the doorway.

"I should kick you out," she says, throwing her dishrag in the sink, "but I don't trust what you would do outside of this building."

He glares at her as she walks up to him, crossing her arms and scowling at him. Their ears were both bent back aggressively, and the tension between them was growing immensely.

"You hurt him," she continues, voice low and threatening. "I told you to leave him be. What you did was inexcusable."

"It isn't your problem, so your opinion doesn't matter to me," he glares back at her, eyes narrowed.

"It is my problem!" she yells, her fur practically standing up on end. "You left him there! If I hadn't followed you there and found him he would have been stuck there all night! He was bleeding for Chaos's sake!"

"I left because he told me to, so mind your own damn business," Shadow snaps back, his quills rising in agitation.

"You should have at least brought him to me, so I can take care of him!" she growls. "Not just leave him there like that!"

"Like you give a damn about anyone but yourself," the biohog argues back. "You only help others if there's something in it for you."

He wasn't expecting to be kicked back so hard he crashed through a cabinet full of wine bottles.

He hit it hard, glass stabbing into his back and causing him to curse loudly, grimacing as he collapses on the splint wood and shards of wine bottles, slipping in the alcohol as it started to pool on the floor beneath him.

That _bitch._

He gets up, watching her tense defensively, ready to kick him again if he tries to attack her back.

That's exactly what he planned to do.

He launches himself at her, ready to knock her right off her feet, but something hits him first, and he's suddenly stumbling backwards, holding his face as blood dripped down from the newly made gash in his muzzle.

It takes him a minute to realize it wasn't Rouge that hit him.

Sonic seems just as surprised as the both of them that he managed to actually _hurt _Shadow, but he's the first to recover as he looks down at the blue rings around his wrists, realizing the same time they did that they were glowing brightly.

"Didn't think these would work _that _well," he admits out loud.

So the inhibitors Tails made let Sonic hit him…?

He can feel his Chaos Energy reacting, confused as ever. Sonic shouldn't have been able to even lift a finger against him, yet he hit him straight on and left a significant injury as well.

The hero was standing in front of Rouge protectively, fists raised and eyes narrowed determinedly. Sonic's energy must be going insane at that point, and seeing how the hero's face was red and he was shifting uncomfortably, he could tell the rings could only protect him from his energy so much.

Sonic was probably about to go into heat, but with the rings on it was having a hard time happening…

Rouge had a hand over her mouth as she watched Sonic stand ready to attack the other hedgehog again. Sonic would risk making his situation with Shadow worse just to protect her? Now _that _was some chivalry if she ever saw it. It actually touched her, that he would do that for her, but worry settled in right after as she realized Shadow was most likely going to kill Sonic for this.

Luckily Shadow seemed too far shocked to do anything immediately. That look on his face was priceless, and she had to hold her laugh in because this was probably going to get messy.

Shadow recovers, sneering at the blue hedgehog that stood his ground against him. "They aren't going to last much longer," he says, almost mockingly. Sonic's energy was too strong to be held back by any inhibitor. He would go into heat within the hour, and the more energy he used, the sooner it would happen. The moment the hero went into heat, he would lose complete control over his body and won't be able to do anything at all, no matter how strong-willed he was.

"Well, then I guess I should take advantage of this wonderful opportunity," Sonic's reply was dark, his tone even darker. He looks back at Rouge, his voice softening just slightly. "I'll repay you for the damages with a Chaos Emerald."

Her eyes lit up, mouth falling open, before she smirks and nods towards Shadow. "You don't have to repay me at all, Big Blue. Seeing you kick his ass is good enough for me."

"Good," Sonic hums, turning back and swiping his nose with his thumb.

Shadow doesn't even get to blink before Sonic is dashing at him, fist reared back. He barely catches the other, but not before they go crashing through the wall, over the bar counter, and all the way into the far wall on the other side of the club.

Rouge had to admit, she flinched when that wall exploded, but, Sonic needed this.

Shadow's back hits the bottom of the wall, and Sonic doesn't hesitate to slam his fist into the biohog's face, then again, and before he can hit him a third time Shadow grabs the hedgehog by the arms and throws him to the side. Sonic hits the ground but gets up just in time to lock fists with the other, his blue inhibitors glowing against the strain of his energy fighting him.

They meet eyes, and Shadow notices the other's face is still red, and the hedgehog is just glaring at him as if he wanted to kill him, and he can feel their energy reacting, not happy with those rings…

He doesn't expect Sonic to risk losing his stance when a knee hooks him in the ribs, and then another kick sends him crashing through a couple tables behind him.

Sonic's heart was slamming in his chest faster than ever. He hoped by the time his heat won over his body Shadow was down enough to not be able to hurt him anymore, or get revenge for this, but his hopes were dim at the chances of that going that well.

Before the ebony hedgehog can get up he decides to spindash him, slamming into him and hearing Shadow let out a loud curse as he continued to spin into him. It doesn't last long before he's being thrown backwards, and he bounces against the ceiling, landing in a crouch on the ground just as Shadow's running after him.

He dodges to the side and grabs a nearby steel chair, slamming it against the dark hedgehog as he passed by. Shadow stumbles, nearly falling forward, catching himself on a couch and turning to hit the other with a Chaos Spear, but is cut short when he gets hit in the head full force with the side of the chair.

He practically sees stars as he falls backwards, reaching up a hand as he sees Sonic swing the chair again. Wasn't the hero against weapons? He supposed at this point the hedgehog didn't care, but just wanted to cause him as much pain as possible.

For some reason, he couldn't give his all in this fight. There was the tiny voice in the back of his head that said he deserved this, but was too damn stubborn to listen to it.

He catches the chair before it hits him, throwing it aside and causing Sonic to fall forward with it, the hero yelping as he lands on the dark hedgehog. Shadow takes that opportunity to flip them over, slamming the hero against the ground and the back of the couch. Sonic grabs a glass cup off the table nearby as he falls, smashing it into the side of Shadow's head and causing him to reel back.

Sonic kicks them over, about to get up when a shudder goes through him and he gasps, gritting his teeth. He quickly gets up, attempting to take a step back, when his knees give out from under him and he collapses.

'_Not now, come on!' _he thinks helplessly, watching Shadow push himself up, and again their eyes meet, and Shadow notices what's going on, and Sonic bites the inside of his cheek, debating heavily on his next move.

As Shadow gets to his feet, stepping forward, Sonic grabs the table next to him and swings it full force, nailing the onyx hedgehog in the stomach and sending him backwards, table falling on him.

That was it, Sonic falls back and scoots back so he's against the wall, panting. He squeezes his legs together, shaking uncontrollably as his energy was starting to really fight his inhibitors. All he could do was try to calm himself down, begging Chaos to not put him in heat, just not yet…

Rouge is then kneeling down beside him, giving him a smirk. "Beautiful. Damages are so worth it."

Sonic gives a weak chuckle, but turns his head as another shudder goes through him. Rouge pulls him into a hug, turning to watch Shadow push the table off of him, rolling to his side to hold his stomach. They meet eyes, before he huffs and closes his, and she notices that he's shaking now almost as bad as Sonic is.

So Sonic wasn't the only one suffering here...Shadow was being affected by Sonic going into heat…

"I think you guys are done, here," she decides to announce, scratching behind one of Sonic's blue ears as she talked. "No more fighting. Shadow," she snaps, getting his attention, "you can't even _touch _him unless he _gives _you his consent. If you do without I'm telling Towers you're planning on assassinating him, and then he'll have you locked up on Prison Island again for another fifty years, while they feed Sonic your Chaos Energy. Clear?"

He blinks at her, before looking away. His nod is barely noticable, but she takes it. He's learned his lesson, for now at least.

"Blue," she says to the hero in her arms, making him look up at her. "You'd better tell me when and if he hurts you like that again, so I can ruin his life. Don't hide anything from me, you understand?"

He nods, closing his eyes as she pulls him into another hug.

"Good, then," she looks back at Shadow. "Here's how this is going to work… For now, you two are to meet up here any time Sonic goes into heat. This is the only place you guys will take care of your business, until Sonic says he's comfortable and I deem it okay for you guys to go somewhere else with it. You guys need to figure this out on your own, but I'm going to be keeping an eye on you both until you guys can be trusted to not kill each other and be safe with each other. I mean my threats, Shadow."

He huffs and gets up, despite how shaky he is, and she can tell he's actually hurt, and Sonic never fully recovered from last night…

They were both broken messes, and she supposed she had her work cut out for her…

* * *

The tension in the air was so thick you could mistake it for fog.

Rouge's way of punishing Shadow was letting him bandage and clean himself up, picking the glass out of his head and back, while she cleaned up Sonic. They sat in her kitchen, ignoring the hole in the wall she was going to make Shadow pay for (along with all the other damages, especially her wine), Sonic sitting on the counter by the sink while Shadow stood on the other side of the room, doing a half-assed job of taking care of himself.

Sally was texting Sonic, asking where he was, when he would be back, and he was explaining to her that G.U.N. needed his help for something, and that he would be back within a week or so, give or take a few days.

"I'm surprised you're as nice to her as you are," Rouge comments, ripping the end of the bandage and pinning it to the ones wrapped around the hero's chest. Sonic shrugs, putting his communicator down next to him.

"We've made up. She apologized and everything…" he says, sounding glum. "Everything's been fine…"

"Are you still in love with her?" the bat can't help but ask, tilting her head as she steps in front of him slightly. He avoids her look, again shrugging.

"Yeah, but it's not like that matters now."

Shadow on the other side of the room felt those words hit him like a spear. Sonic would never be able to chase his dreams of being with Sally now, simply because of him, because of this bond.

Rouge sighs, leaning back against the island counter behind her. "I never liked her anyway, to be honest, darling. She's demanding, and anytime something doesn't go her way she acts like it's the end of the world. She wasn't right for you."

Sonic scoffs, an empty smirk curving his lips. "And who is?"

Another burn, and both Shadow and Rouge felt it.

Rouge looks down, crossing her arms with a frown. "I suppose I can't open the club today… I'll have to get some calls made to get this all fixed." She looks back at Shadow, who seemed to have given up on his injuries, before looking back at Sonic. Both hedgehogs were still shaking, and Sonic's light blue inhibitors were glowing brightly. At least he had a method of kicking Shadow's ass when he needed to, she thinks. That was a start. He looked horrible, though, with his face red and his ears pinned back. He couldn't even stand on his own anymore; she had to practically carry him in here earlier.

He was only a fraction away from going into heat, and he had to be suffering like crazy at the moment. They all knew what was going to have to happen, but they were all stalling…

"Alright," she sighs, getting their attention. "I'm going to take Blue upstairs to the room I'm giving him. Give him all the time he needs before you guys take care of the current problem at hand."

Sonic flusters and bites his bottom lip, while Shadow looks away, avoiding her look.

Walking over and helping Sonic off the counter, she glances at Shadow one last time before throwing Sonic's arm around her shoulders and helping him out and to the room.

By the time she sat him down on the bed, a look of anxiety had settled on his face, and she felt bad for allowing this to happen.

"I'm sorry you have to go through this, Blue," she says, kneeling to sit on the ground in front of him, taking his hands in her own. "I won't be far, and will be right up afterwards, okay?"

He looks like he's really going to have an anxiety attack, and his nod is shaky as all hell. "Y-Yeah…"

She stands up and hugs him again, and he lets out a trembling sigh, burying his face in the crook of her neck.

"It shouldn't be as bad as the first time," she says, trying to ease his worry. "I'll get you a warm bath after and you can sleep. I'll go out and get you the finest chili dogs I can find."

A weak chuckle leaves him as she pulls away, and she can tell he's _trying _to listen to her. Trying to stay calm.

She smiles warmly at him. "I won't leave until you're ready."

They sit for a couple more minutes, before he gives her the okay, and it takes all her power to leave him there.

She felt like she was giving up her most treasured possession, and it _hurt_.

* * *

"_Be _gentle _with him."_

"_You hurt him and I'll kill you."_

"_Don't make me regret this."_

Those are the words Rouge told him before she sent him upstairs. He didn't make any promises, but he knew she would follow through with her threats if she had to. She was a woman of her word, which was one of the reasons they had become allies, if not friends, over time.

When he entered the room, Sonic glared at him heavily, and the atmosphere suddenly weighed much more than it was supposed to. He suddenly felt defensive, even though he knew he should be in the wrong.

His stubborn mind and energy told him that he shouldn't feel guilt. That he shouldn't feel bad because he was only doing what he had to.

He shuts the door behind him, not allowed to lock it under Rouge's orders. He crosses his arms, frowning at the shaking hedgehog sitting on the edge of the bed across from him.

"You have to take those off," he was talking about the inhibitors. Sonic's glare darkened.

"I will when I have to," he huffs, face already pink and sweat already visible on his cobalt fur. The hero's legs were squeezed together and his hands were in his lap, hands curled into fists. The fact that he hadn't gone into heat yet was actually impressive at this point, but it was obvious that it was going to happen the moment Shadow laid hands on him.

The biohog let his arms fall to his sides, thinking they might as well just get this over with. He walks over and sees Sonic tense up, leaning over and grabbing the hero under the knees, and lifting him up and in the middle of the bed.

Just as he had thought, the moment he moved Sonic, the hedgehog let out a huff and then a hiss, and then a whimper as his body reacted to his mate's touch. The blue hero squeezed his eyes shut, feeling his energy begin to course through him like it did the night before, and he knew the moment those rings came off he was going to fall apart like a set of building blocks.

Shadow crawled over him, spreading his legs apart and reaching for his wrists, grabbing the blue rings and feeling for the buttons that would release their clips. He found them, and his eyes met Sonic's, and it took the younger of the two a second to realize Shadow was waiting on his approval, which was actually surprising but gratefully appreciated, especially considering how last night went…

He takes in a deep breath and turns his head, looking away and giving the other a tiny nod.

The moment the inhibitors came off, a blast of energy hit the both of them, and Sonic gasped and threw a hand over his mouth as his heat broke him apart immediately. A hot, intense pressure built between his legs and his lower stomach, and he whined at the feeling of something wet trailing down between his thighs.

Shadow seemed to lose it then, and he leaned forward, locking lips with the hedgehog and forcing his tongue in the other's mouth. Sonic moaned, hips bucking and hands finding the sheets beneath his head, whining as he lost all sense of self-consciousness with every touch.

Shadow's hips bucked into his own, and Sonic let out another gasp, choking back a cry as he felt the other's hands travel down his body and feel him up in between his thighs. Gloves discarded sometime in between the kiss, he feels a finger prodding the tight hole beneath his tail and he whines again, legs spreading on his own without even thinking about it.

His body is forced to relax because of his energy, and he reaches an arm up to wrap around Shadow's shoulders as he feels that finger enter him, slowly but easily without resistance.

"_Ah-!" _he turns his head and snaps his teeth together, unable to stop the needing whines and moans leaving his lips as his body arched in Shadow's arms, the black and red hedgehog nipping lightly at his neck and drawing a few specks of blood, while his finger curled and thrusted inwards, wringing out another cry of pleasure from him.

His vision was going white, his energy was giving him a dark aura that swirled upwards until it hit Shadow's own golden aura, their Chaos Energy reacting to the emotions and physical pleasure in between them. He yelped when he was thrusted into again, just short of hitting his sweet spot, before Shadow is adding a second finger and those fingers curl, spread open, and thrust forward, stretching him open.

"_Nnya-ahhh~!" _he exclaims, squeezing his eyes shut. It felt so much better than the first time, despite the pain that was still there. Shadow must have been told off by Rouge before he came up here, because he was actually taking the time to prepare him this time. His member was poking out of its pouch, peaking out more and more with every thrust. The clear fluid his body produced when he went into heat, was leaving a mess in his crotch and the bed under him. His hands fly above his head and hold onto the wall there, arching his back and moaning loudly as his prostate is hit, hard this time.

Watching Sonic come undone beneath him was something he didn't think would get him this good, but he was having one hell of a time just watching, now. The way Sonic's mouth would fall open, tongue falling out and face flushed dark pink, sweat dripping down his pelt and eyes squeezed tightly shut, brows up in stress from the pleasure, ears bent back and quills flat against his head. The way he would moan and whimper, and his hands would grip the wall, then the sheets, as if they just didn't know what to do with themselves, while the hero's back would arch and his body would mold into whatever the ebony hog saw fit.

He was enjoying this more than he thought he would. More than he knew he should.

Sonic pants heavily as he feels those fingers remove themselves from him, his mind swirling as it tried to keep up with his body. An arm is sliding around his waist and lifting his back off the bed, until only his upper back and toes are touching it. He whimpers, grabbing the sheets and nearly tearing them, feeling Shadow's tip press against his opening, and his toes curl at the feeling of being slowly entered.

Shadow was definitely being far more gentle with him this time around, although he could be _better. _He didn't appreciate the hickies he was sure were on his neck now, or the fact that he probably wasn't going to be able to walk at all at this point…

"_Ah!" _he exclaims when his thoughts are suddenly destroyed, as Shadow thrusts forward all the way in, not holding back anymore. He pulls out and slams back in, making the hero curse and cry out loudly, his legs kicking, hands finally ripping the sheets.

"_Sha-! Ahh-hah!" _he can't get anything out or hold it in, and Shadow was increasing his pace, leaning forward to wrap an arm around the hero's torso, while his other hand grabbed his right thigh and forced his legs apart more, getting a better angle. Sonic squeezed his eyes shut, meowing out uncontrollably, while the streaked hedgehog panted heavily in his ear.

It was hot, and the pleasure was beginning to get too much, and Sonic leaned his head back as he felt warm lips on his own, Shadow's tongue invading his mouth again. He just happens to squint open his eyes and meets Shadow's ruby red ones, and the dark hedgehog takes that initiative to bit his bottom lip, tugging roughly on it, before reaching a hand up to hold the side of his face.

They never broke eye contact.

Something about it was enough to make Sonic's heart pound heavier in his chest, make the pleasure ten times better than it was. Shadow leaned forward to press their lips together, not forcingly...leaving it soft and chaste.

It was an odd, bubbly feeling he couldn't describe.

...and then there's a thrust that has him _losing _it, a weak cry breaking his lips and making Shadow groan in his mouth.

"_Shadow!"_

Hearing Sonic call his name hits him in the chest, and the hand he has holding the side of the hero's face pets around to hold the back of his head, putting their foreheads together as he rode them through their orgasm.

This was getting to him too much…

Sonic shakes his head, mouth open as he arches his back again and lets out a soft whine, Chaos Energy buzzing through him and completely destroying his body and emotions again. He wraps his arms and legs around Shadow, whimpering and holding onto him tightly.

"Don't….d-don't leave y-yet…"

He's not sure why he listens, or why he pulls Sonic close to him in a tight hug, burying his face in the crook of the hero's neck. His energy felt warm, and he realized soon that Sonic seemed to be drawing on it, using it to calm himself down.

It dawns on both of them that Sonic needed Shadow's energy, or he would lose control of himself again…and it made Sonic tighten his grip on the dark hedgehog, begging without words for him to not leave. He didn't want to go through that again… He was tired of crying and not being able to keep himself in check…

By the time Sonic isn't shaking so badly anymore the Dark Chaos Born is practically asleep, his hold on Shadow weakened, giving the biohog a chance to pull out and let go of him.

Sonic groaned, reaching for him, but Shadow pushes him away, mixed emotions swirling through him.

One told him to lay with Sonic, the other told him to go.

Whatever chance he had to mend their relationship was gone with Sonic's virginity last night, and the hero said it himself; he hated him, and there was no fixing that no matter what he did. There was no point in trying to fix something that was far too broken, and so he gets up, only giving one last glance towards the now sleeping hedgehog murmuring his name, before he heads to the bathroom to shower, and then leave.


	5. Four - Awkward Questioning

**Chapter Four - Awkward Questioning and Learning**

Sonic was out cold when Shadow came down and left without a word, and the bat girl had to wake him up to get him to the shower. The blue hero was groggy and seemed to be barely awake, but she was able to help him clean up and get into a new bed so he could sleep soundly. She decided afterwards that a trip to the store was in order, and she left only after making sure Sonic would be alright.

When she got back Shadow was sitting on a couch on the far side of the club, head down on the table in front of him and flipping lazily through the texts from Angel Island. At least he was doing his research, she thinks as she carries her groceries into the kitchen. After setting up a pot of water to boil, she heads back out to the main room to sit across from the ebony hedgehog, resting her chin in her left hand.

"How's it going?" she asks, watching his ears flick back. He flips through another paper, ignoring her.

'_What a bundle of sunshine,' _she thinks with a smirk to herself, shaking her head. "You should take Sonic on a run later when he wakes up. Take those papers with you, find a nice place for you two to read them together."

That earns her a small glare, as the hedgehog sits up and gathers the texts up in a pile. "I don't want to be anywhere near him," he says with a scowl. "His energy reacts too much to mine."

"You're not going to solve any of your guys' problems by avoiding each other," Rouge frowns at him.

"I'll do things how I want to," he stands up, taking the papers with him.

"You're stupid," Rouge huffs, turning her head and throwing her arms up in frustration. "Just do it, Shadow. It isn't going to hurt anyone."

He stands there, glaring at her, and she meets his glare with one of her own, electricity practically flowing between the two.

"I'd say if he doesn't want to, why force him," Sonic's voice spoke up from behind them, arms crossed. He was leaning back on a nearby table, seeming to have been there for a minute or two. "...but he seems to not mind forcing people to do things they don't want." When Shadow turns back to scowl at him, his emerald eyes narrow. "So tough shit. Let's go."

He doesn't give Shadow any room to argue, walking over to snatch the papers out of his hand and grab him by the wrist, and the two disappear in a flash of Chaos Control.

Rouge blinks, staring at the spot the two had been just seconds before.

"Power to you, Blue."

* * *

They sat next to each other, under the tree Sonic had sat at just the other day, the blue hero watching Shadow finish the papers he himself had already read. Shadow was sitting up, just an inch away, while Sonic leaned back comfortably against the tree, the sun warm as it flickered through the leaves above them.

It would be relatively relaxing if not for the constant buzz of Chaos Energy between them, or the fact that they hated each other, or that Sonic felt he had to remain on high alert because Shadow obviously couldn't be trusted…

He was surprised the striped hedgehog even agreed to sit down. He had thought he was going to have to prepare for a fight, but after a glaring match, Shadow actually sat and started reading. He wondered if it was because of Rouge's threats, because he couldn't figure out why else Shadow would actually listen, unless he was broken or something…

Speaking of…

Wasn't Shadow actually a robot? If he remembered correctly from what Rouge had said back on the ARK, Shadow was created by Professor Gerald, all from scratch. He didn't age, was never a child, he's always been the same as he was now. He was made to be a cure and a weapon, but anything else? His Chaos Energy wasn't even authentic...well...at least half of it anyway. Half of his energy was just synthetic, or fake, like the fake emerald Tails made before. It wasn't real Chaos Energy, so should a bond even be possible? If Shadow wasn't completely made out of real Chaos Energy, then their bond shouldn't be possible, right?

He furrows his brows, shaking his head. It had to be possible, if they had a bond now, as unlikely as it seemed.

...but if Shadow really was a robot, then what gives? He's pretty sure Shadow could bleed mobian blood, but he never ate. Never drank anything. Could he? He obviously could have sex, as he so subtly had learned, so he would assume so… That doesn't really make him a robot then, does it?

...but to create something that had such abilities… Shadow's strength was rival to that of Knuckles, Chaos ability equally matching his own… He could even run at the speeds Sonic could, and even though he used his skates to achieve such a feat, his body could still handle the velocity, where normal mobians -including Tails- couldn't.

He was probably the only other person on the planet that he could call his equal, and if they really were both immortal…

Just what _was _he? Maybe he should ask Rouge if she knew anymore about him…

Maybe he shouldn't be questioning Shadow until he figured himself out, though. He may or may not be immortal, which wasn't something any mobian just was. Shadow was created to be the Ultimate Lifeform, surpassing anything and everyone else, yet Sonic was simply born this way. Born an equal to the Ultimate Lifeform.

Maybe that was one of the reasons Shadow hated him, he realized. Shadow was created to be perfect, yet Sonic had achieved that simply by existing. Maybe that offended Shadow.

Would he have...actually tried to kill him? Sonic shook the thought from his head; he didn't want to think about it…

He watches Shadow flip through another page, thinking how this was the calmest he's ever seen his rival. He actually seemed relaxed, which was a first for the blue hero's eyes.

It could be worse, he then thinks. He could be bonded to anyone else...St. John, Kahn, Jet… He shakes his head again, shuddering inwardly at the thought of being forced with one of those guys…

Shadow was actually fun to be around when he wasn't a douchebag, he reminds himself. Racing him, sparring with him, and working together against a common threat… His favorite memory with Shadow was when the two of them and Rouge took out a weapon at the doctor's base. They worked perfectly together, and his favorite moment during the whole escapade, was catching Shadow after the hedgehog took off his inhibitors to take out the weapon. Shadow actually had smiled up at him. A real smile. Not his cocky smirk or evil grin that said he was going to kill you...a smile. Afterwards they shook hands and again he was rewarded with another smile, and there had been a twinkle in Shadow's eyes he had never seen before, but one he devoted to memory because it was just so…

He didn't even have a word for it, but it made him warm inside.

Maybe...they could have become friends...if this hadn't happened. The fact that Shadow had came to him that day, asking for his help, was a huge step towards friendship. Now they were all the way back at step zero, possibly the negatives now, and it didn't seem fixable.

His mind went back to only so many hours ago… Shadow could have hurt him again, but he didn't. He wasn't exactly gentle, but he made an effort to not be so harsh. Then there was that kiss, that strange, chaste kiss that seemed too...simple for the dark hedgehog. They had met eyes, and there was some kind of strange emotion in those red irises, and that warm feeling he had every time he thought back to that one memory came back to him, if only for such a short minute. Shadow had even stayed a little bit when he had asked…

Was there a chance? Would they be able to get over this?

No, not with how much Shadow hated him now, and he wasn't sure if he could forgive him for what he did to him.

Hopefully the most they could do would be to just make it through this without killing each other, and avoid each other any time they didn't have to be together. Still sucked he would never be able to go out with Sally again, or anyone else.

At least Shadow was attractive, he couldn't deny that. The first time he saw Shadow he was for some unknown reason drawn to how he looked and couldn't shake it. With his black fur and red markings, white tuff of chest fluff and upturned quills no other hedgehog could have, he always had the blue hero's eye. His eyes were the most interesting; crimson red that would put his shoes to shame. Even now staring at him, he had to admit he _was _attracted to Shadow's appearance. He was built like Knuckles and yet could be so swift and deadly…

He doesn't realize he's blushing until Shadow looks back at him, and his heart leaps into his chest.

If Shadow noticed him staring, then he didn't show it. Instead he leans back and flips through a set of papers he was holding. "I read all of it."

Sonic swallows the lump in his throat and hopes his energy can stay in control with Shadow's shoulder touching his, and he reaches for the papers next to him to hand to the other.

"Then we're caught up at the same spot. I haven't read these yet," he says, taking the read papers from Shadow to put back in the bag he brought, watching Shadow flip through the new pages.

Then he suddenly remembers _why _he stopped reading.

Panic suddenly fills him and he resists the urge to snatch the papers out of the Ultimate Lifeform's hands. "Uhh-I mean we don't have to read _those-_"

"Because they're about you?" Shadow interrupts, giving him a small frown. Sonic can't stop his face from reddening, and he glares back at him.

"I mean...I just don't think they're really important…"

Shadow huffs, looking back at the papers. "You and Rouge were the ones that wanted us all to read these, so we're reading them. Get over it."

Sonic bites the inside of this cheek, crossing his arms, ears pinning back. Oh, what was the point in arguing? He probably should learn this stuff anyway, as embarrassing as it was.

Ignoring that they were leaning against each other, he looks at the papers Shadow holds in between them and starts reading to himself, hoping Shadow finished before he did.

'_Once the first act of intimacy has taken place, the next acts take place when the Dark Chaos Born develops a heat. A heat prepares the Dark Chaos Born for the next act of intimacy, including heavy secretion and relaxing of the entire body.'_

Sonic put a hand over his mouth, knowing his face had to be red as ever.

'_When the Dark Chaos Born goes into heat, they will stay in heat until the two have sex again. The longer they go without, the more intense the heat will get. The reason being is because the Chaos Energy in the Dark Chaos Born builds up and does not stop until it is released. If a heat is not properly taken care of, the amount of built up Chaos Energy can cause the Dark Chaos Born to go into a coma, suffer great mental and emotional trauma, or even death. It is very important heats are taken care of within the first two hours of development._

'_During the Dark Chaos Born's heat, the Light Chaos Born will be able to sense and feel it, no matter how far away they are from each other or where they are. The Light Chaos Born will suffer great energy attacks if the heat is not taken care of. This was made so a Light Chaos Born could not ever neglect their mate in any form of abuse. The more the Dark Chaos Born suffers, the more the Light Chaos Born will as well._

'_A Dark Born's heat heavily effects their emotions, making them act uncharacteristically and act out on emotions. The stronger the Dark Born's energy, the stronger the emotional reactions. Some weaker Dark Born can learn to control these emotional reactions, although it is rare they are able to fully suppress them. Dark Born with stronger energy will not be able to contain nor suppress these emotions. The only way to keep them under control is if the emotional bond between the two Chaos Born is positive, and the Light Chaos Born shares their energies back and forth between them.'_

Sonic felt something bitter rise in his throat. So there was no way to keep his emotions under control unless Shadow was willing to be there for him? Maybe he was today, but if he decided he didn't want to…

He didn't like that at all. Not being able to control himself...having to rely on someone else for something like this...

'_Chaos is powered by emotions. The stronger the emotional bond between the two Chaos Born, the smoother the Mating Season will run its course. If there is either no bond or a negative bond between the two, it will cause both Chaos Born great pain throughout the Season, and can cause the Season to last longer than it is supposed to._

'_If a bond is strong it will give the Chaos Born many benefits, some including the ability to draw on and use each other's energy, telepathic communication, and stronger regeneration abilities._

'_If a bond is negative, Blocks may have to be established in order to protect the Dark Chaos Born from abuse.'_

Sonic perks up and Shadow frowns as they read the last line at the same time.

Blocks? Finally, something worth reading, Sonic thinks with a inner breath of relief.

'_A Block protects the Dark Chaos Born's energy from being manipulated by the Light Chaos Born. Light Chaos Born can bend and shape a Dark Born's energy, which can cause severe physical, mental, and emotional trauma if abused. A Block protects the Dark Chaos Born from attacks by sensing any attempted manipulations and sending them back to the Light Chaos Born. Some call it Chaos Mirroring, and it can be given to the Dark Chaos Born from the Master Emerald, issued by the Guardian.'_

Oh, that _sucked_. He would need Knuckles to put the Block on him, but to do that he would have to tell Knuckles...and if he told Knuckles then all hell would break loose…

Maybe there was a way to do it without needing Knuckles… He's used the Master Emerald on his own before without the echidna's help, so if he just tried it on his own…

Maybe he could even talk to Tikal…

He realizes that Shadow was flipping through the papers almost as if he were lost in thought, a frown on his tan muzzle and his red eyes distant.

"Shadow?" he's not sure why he gets the others attention, but Shadow looks up, and that's when he truly notices how close they are.

Because their noses touch the moment Shadow turns his head.

Sonic jumps back and looks away quickly, a hot feeling rushing through him and he curses his energy for making the wrong assumption in the brief contact…

Shadow must feel it too, because he moves an inch away from him, black ears bent back.

Moving away seemed to have the opposite effect they wanted, though.

Sonic's energy only grew at that moment, and the blue hero closed his eyes and lets out a breath of air. "Th-This is stupid," he says shakily, catching Shadow by surprise. "I always thought Chaos Energy was a good thing to have. Everyone calls it a _gift_. It's only taken away my entire freedom and ripped and torn it apart piece by piece."

Shadow doesn't say anything, looking down at the papers again, the same deep frown still on his muzzle.

The two sit in silence, and Sonic's curiosity has him opening his eyes to look over at Shadow, which is a bad idea because his energy just _jumps _the moment he lays eyes on him, and he curses internally when Shadow looks back up at him.

Did he ever get a break?

Then Shadow is shaking his head and standing up, grabbing all the papers into a pile and putting them into the bag sitting next to Sonic, and the blue hero is watching with dread building in his stomach.

"Let's go," Shadow says after the papers are packed up, and Sonic wants to argue, but knows there's no point, so he stands up and takes his bag from the black and red hedgehog, and with once last glare at each other, they disappear in a flash to Club Rouge.

* * *

Gloveless hands against the wall, knees on the bed, head looking down with eyes squeezed shut, Sonic bit his bottom lip to keep himself from crying out, but fails when Shadow snaps his hips in just the right direction, hitting his prostate and causing him to moan out loudly.

Shadow's face was buried in the crook of his neck, the Ultimate Lifeform panting while holding back his own moans, arms tightly wrapped around Sonic's torso and hips, each thrust faster and harder than the last.

The throbbing between his legs was almost unbearable at this point, and the blue hero had the urge to reach for his member to relieve some of that stress, but was too embarrassed to do so. He also felt like jelly, unable to move his arms from the wall in front of him, and so he bit his lip again, drawing blood when a particular thrust was too much.

He was honestly starting to get use to this, which horrified himself. He couldn't deny his body definitely enjoyed the attention, but he didn't _want _to. He supposed it was better than being in constant pain, but still…

He suddenly feels a warmth around his member and he sucks in his breath, before whining loudly as Shadow starts to stroke him, matching with each thrust into his rear.

Oh, he was gonna _die_.

It was starting to get to be too much now, and Sonic shakes his head, reaching for Shadow's hand on his member and losing it. _"Ah-! Ahh-Sha-! I can't-!"_

He was going to lose his mind at this point. He feels Shadow's other hand run up his chest and pull him back away from the wall, so Sonic's head falls back on his shoulder. _"Shadow!" _Sonic reaches behind him, hands flying up to grab on Shadow's head quills, legs shaking and threatening to give out, each thrust of Shadow's hips forcing a hot breath of air and whine from him, breaking him apart. _"Ah-hahhhhaa…."_

Every noise that left Sonic only made Shadow want to go more; the sounds strangely addicting. He moves the hand that's on Sonic's chest up to his mouth, forcing those fawn lips open as he slides two fingers in his mouth.

"Scream," he huffs into the younger's blue ear, making it flick back against its owner's head. A noticeable shiver runs through Sonic at the hoarseness of the biohog's voice and his demand, before his eyes are widening as Shadow rams forward with no remorse.

Sonic screamed.

* * *

The bat girl smiles as she brings in a tray of fresh cooked chili dogs, making Sonic give her an empty smile where he lay on his back on the bed.

"Rise and shine, Baby Blue!" Rouge chirps, putting the tray on the nightstand, plopping down on the edge of the bed to lean over and press a kiss on his forehead. "I know with that apetite of yours you have to be _dying_. I made these myself so you better not waste them!"

'_He really needs to eat. He barely touched his breakfast earlier, and that was a while ago now,' _she thinks, watching him sigh and wince as he sits up.

"Thanks, Rouge," he mumbles eyeing the tray. His stomach growled, but the thought of putting food in his mouth made him want to gag. Even chili dogs weren't appeasing to him right now, and he's never had a problem accepting a chili dog before.

"Sonic," Rouge sighs, making him look up almost guiltily. "Please try. You're going to make yourself sick if you don't really eat."

He rests his head in his hand, crossing his legs and closing his eyes. "I know...I just don't have the stomach for it."

"You always have the stomach for food," she argues with a weak grin. "Try. You'll feel better when you do. Don't make me feed you."

He opens one eye to glare at her, before giving in and turning to reach for the plate of food. He grabs one and takes a bite, trying to appreciate the flavor. It honestly wasn't that bad.

"There you go!" Rouge smiles brightly, reaching up to pinch his cheek and pat him on the head, making him glare at her again. "Eat up. I'm going to let the repair guys in to do their thing. Let me know if you need anything else, okay?"

He waves her away, taking another bite of his food. After being left alone, he leans back against the pillows and continues to eat quietly, eyes narrowed as he stares up at the ceiling.

To have two heats in one day… How was he supposed to live like this? What if he was in the middle of battle and he got one? He wouldn't be able to fight… What if Shadow couldn't get to him within the two hours? What would happen then?

He felt sick thinking about all of it, and he tried not to as he continued eating. Rouge would scold him without end if he didn't finish his meal, so he pushed all thoughts of Shadow and this whole scenario to the back of his head and ate quickly.

He still couldn't help but wonder what Shadow really felt about all of this.

* * *

He watched the repairmen at their task of rebuilding the broken wall, while Rough flirted with their manager in the kitchen. She was a panda with long hair and yellow eyes, curvy hips and short hair, and Rouge was all over her. Or she was just trying to get the repairs cheap by winning the heart of the girl. Of course, she would probably be getting this whole set for free the moment she pulled the 'I'm friends with Sonic card,' but surprisingly the bat never even mentioned him.

She must really care about him, he thought with a frown. Why was beyond him; Rouge didn't care for anyone but herself, but for some reason Sonic was special to her. The two always got along well, but being this close wasn't something he had ever seen, unless there was something he didn't know about.

Sonic had crashed right after their 'business' as usual, but not as hard as the past two times he did. Again the hero had clung on to him and asked him to stay, if just for a little bit, and for some stupid reason he obliged, before coming to his senses and leaving him alone again.

The truth was, he felt guilty.

He wanted to apologize.

...but something was keeping him from doing it. He almost did, earlier under the tree when Sonic had started ranting, but something stopped the words from leaving his mouth. Then there was that thought that he shouldn't have to apologize, and that he had only done what needed to be done.

He couldn't tell if it was his energy making him think like that or his own self. At this point he couldn't tell the difference. He could hardly tell the difference between his own energy and Sonic's, now, which confused the hell out of him beyond end.

Sometimes he felt like he wasn't even the one acting, like something was taking control over him and forcing him to do things he would morally be against. Raping Sonic wasn't something he could fully justify; it was just plain wrong, but his brain would always find an excuse as to why he shouldn't feel bad, why it was fine.

'_Sonic's been through worse, he'll get over it.'_

That was the latest and probably most disgusting of his thoughts lately, but he couldn't help but agree with them.

He's always been a factual person, never relying on his emotions to tell him what he can and cannot do, but there was always a line, and he crossed it. Or, at least a part of him thought. A part of him that was slowly diminishing as the other part argued with it.

He felt like he was losing his mind, trying to figure it all out.

He knew what Maria would say. How she would respond to the way he was acting.

She would slap him. Tell him how disappointed she was in him.

That was probably what was pissing him off the most. What was making him act like he was. He couldn't stand the fact that Maria would be so upset with him…

...but he's already dug himself a hole. Already fucked up majorly. What could he honestly do now?

Sonic would never forgive him. Every minute of every day since it happened all he could think about was the way Sonic screamed at him. Told him he hated him. To go away.

Sonic was always smiling. Always happy, joking, and was the only person that ever put an effort in to getting to know him without wanting something in return.

The only person on the planet he actually felt...felt as if he mattered to other than just a weapon or a tool.

...and he fucked it all up.

Sonic reminded him of Maria so much...and now the hero hated him.

Sonic didn't even hate Eggman, after everything the doctor's done, but he hated Shadow.

Shadow was probably the only person he _did _hate.

...and there was no way to fix that.

So there was no point in trying. The only thing he could do was keep going the way he was and hope these next six months went by quickly and quietly.


	6. Five - Unwanted Answers

**Chapter Five - Unwanted Answers**

"You sure you're okay?"

Sonic waved the kitsune away, putting on the best smile he could -which wasn't really good in the fox's opinion- and giving him a thumbs up.

"Of course I'm okay! Just a little worn out from that G.U.N. mission is all," he lied, hoping he could slide passed the kid's lie detection. Tails could usually tell when he was hiding something, which sucked when he wanted to keep things secretive.

Like how he didn't actually go on a G.U.N. mission and was actually getting use to the first week of being sexually frustrated and attracted to his rival, who despised him with his entire being.

Tails gives him a look, one that said he didn't buy it, and shakes his head. "You've just seemed off since Uncle Chuck told you about the immortality thing…"

Sonic frowns, ears quirking back. "Well, it's just a lot to take in is all. I'm still thinking on it."

"You should still do the tests, just to be sure," Tails offers, giving him a small smile. "I think it would be cool if you were. I mean, we would never have to worry about anything happening to you like we always do."

Sonic rolls his eyes and chuckles, ruffling the hair on top the kid's head. "You guys would worry anyway."

"True," the fox chuckles, unable to deny it. "Would you," he starts in a more serious tone, "actually try to get rid of it? Your immortality?"

Sonic frowns, looking away. That...all depended on his issues with Shadow, really. If Shadow would rather him give up his immortality to break the bond, then he'd do it, because he didn't want to spend the rest of his eternal life with someone that would hurt him any chance he got. Besides, it would suck having to watch all his friends die while he stayed young and forced to live beyond their lives.

"I don't know," he admits. "Probably."

Tails frowns at him. "I don't think you should. I mean, you're the way you are for a reason, right? I don't think we should be messing with your energy in any way like that."

Sonic shrugs, avoiding his brother's studying look. "I still have to think about it. I'm not making any decisions anytime soon. I'll do the tests, though, because I want to know for sure."

The fox hums, before the two look up at the sound of footsteps in the doorway. Sonic felt a lump in his throat as his eyes fell on Sally, who smiled warmly at him.

"You couldn't stop to say hi?" she asks lightly, and he chuckles, scratching the back of his head.

He couldn't admit that seeing her would only put a hole in his heart, because no matter how much he loved her he couldn't be with her…

"I wanted to stop by and apologize for running out on Tails the night I left. I felt bad about it."

Tails rolls his eyes and smiles, leaving the lab room to give the two privacy. Sonic wished he hadn't.

Sally walks up to him, raising a brow at the inhibitors on his wrists. "I heard the news...how long do you have to wear those?"

Sonic shrugs, looking away and out the nearby window where the sun shone through. "As long as it takes for my energy to stabilize. I'm not really sure…" Another lie to add to his ever-growing list.

"So you're waiting to make a decision," she says quietly, sounding sad. He looks back at her, frowning at the look in her eyes.

"What would you want me to do?" he has to ask, has to know what she would want.

"I...don't know…" she mumbles, looking down. Her hair falls in her face, and Sonic notices that she seemed to be growing it out again, something she knew he loved. "One part of me wants you to keep it because I'll never have to worry about losing you...the other part of me wants you to grow old with me and…"

He felt like his heart was tearing in two. He should tell her...but no, if he did, it would only raise more problems…

"To be fair, I really don't know where I'm at with it, either," he sighs, crossing his arms. "I need time to think about this…"

"It's your life, your decision, and I'll support whatever you choose," she says, looking back up at him with a smile, and he has to look away, because it really hurts.

"Thanks, Sal," he mumbles. Why did his life always have to throw him through these loops?

He can tell she's trying to read him but failing as always. She was never good at it, and always got annoyed when she couldn't figure him out. It was always amusing to him, at least, any time but now.

"We're," she starts, grabbing his attention, "going to be having a meeting tomorrow to discuss possible locations Eggman could have run off to after the battle. You will be there, right?"

He looks back at her and smiles. "Of course. What time should I show up?"

"Meeting is at noon, but please try to be there early," she smiles back at him, "you know, you have a bad habit of being fashionably late."

He chuckles and swipes at his nose. "Just because I'm the fastest thing alive doesn't mean I have to rush everywhere."

"It means you should have no problem getting to the meeting on _time_," she pokes his nose chidingly, but with a smile on her face.

He tries to ignore the butterflies in his stomach, knowing it wasn't going to do him any good to keep playing around.

Unless of course he _did _give up his immortality. Then he could be with Sally all he wanted.

"I promise I'll be on time," he laughs lightly, holding his hands up innocently. "Cross my heart."

"I'll take your word for it I suppose," she smiles. "I have to ask, did you have any plans for the rest of today?"

Fuck.

Every particle in his being wanted to say no, but he knew he just couldn't, because that was too risky. What if he went into heat and had to bail? Being around her would also tempt him into telling her about the whole issue with Shadow, or wanting to get back with her…

"I...actually was going to get these tests done," he says with a weak smile. He hadn't really planned on it today, but he needed a good excuse to not hang out with her.

She seems disappointed, but takes it. "Nice, that way we can know for sure."

He nods. "Yeah, I'm curious to see if it's really true or not."

"Let me know how it goes then, okay?" she smiles. "I'm going to go set things up for tomorrow."

He smiles, feeling bittersweet. "Alright. I'll see you tomorrow."

* * *

Rouge tilts her head as she watches the red guardian pace back and forth in front of the pulsating Master Emerald. He would pace, stop, look at the emerald, shake his head, and then pace some more.

"You okay, Red?" she finally asks, making him jump and look up to where she sat atop an old pillar above his head.

"Rouge! What are you doing here?"

She rolls her eyes and jumps down, landing gracefully in front of him. "Can't even ask how I'm doing," she huffs, but smiles at him nonetheless. "Am I not allowed to come see my _favorite _guardian?"

"You're just looking for trouble, is what you're doing," he looks away, muttering something about bats under his breath. She shakes her head, smiling knowingly.

"I'm honestly curious; you seem to be upset about something," she pries, knowing he'll go off in a rant.

"Something's wrong with the Master Emerald," he glowers, crossing his arms. "It's been glowing weirdly and is letting off distressed signals every so often."

She frowns and looks at the indeed glowing emerald, noticing it seemed to be a different shade of green than normal. "You have any idea what's wrong with it?"

"None," he frowns. "It's been doing this for the past few weeks, now. It's almost as if something is upsetting it, or it's trying to tell me something that I don't understand."

The past few weeks? She thinks back to Sonic and Shadow, wondering if the two could be having some effect on it. After all, they've been bonded for the past few weeks…

"Was this before or after the battle?" she asks, watching him furrow his brows.

"Right after."

It had to be those two, she thinks, but how and why?

"Have you seen or heard from Sonic?"

That startled her, and she turns and gives him a questioning look. "I have, how come?"

"Is he any better than he was last time I saw him? His energy, I mean," the echidna asks, and Rouge bites down on the inside of her cheek.

"Well...Tails made him some fancy inhibitors that seem to be helping in keeping his energy under control. His uncle thinks he's immortal."

Knuckles's eyes widen, before he looks back at the emerald. "That...wouldn't surprise me."

"They're going to be doing tests to see if it's true or not," she says, putting her hands on her hips. "There may be a way to take away his immortality if he really does have it."

"They shouldn't mess with that," Knuckles frowns. "If Sonic's immortal, it's for a reason. Unless it's going to hurt him, he should leave it how it is."

"Sonic might not agree with that," Rouge hums, watching his frown deepen. "He doesn't seem happy about it."

Knuckles crosses his arms, eyes still glued to the emerald. "I understand that, but he still shouldn't mess with it."

Rouge looks away, frowning to herself. Sonic seemed as if he already planned on going through with it, just to end the bond between him and Shadow. He might, if things between the two didn't calm down.

"He's thinking on it, giving it time," she says. "He's a little shocked from it is all."

Knuckles sighs, looking down. "As long as he doesn't do something stupid…"

Rouge wondered if the echidna knew about the Chaos Born. If he was smart enough to figure it out with Sonic and Shadow, if he _did _know about it. She would keep her promise to Sonic and not tell him, but something told her he was going to find out eventually.

"It's sweet how much you care about him," she has to tease, making him roll his eyes and look away.

"He's my best friend, and I don't want to see him hurt himself is all."

"Sure, whatever you say, Knux."

If only Shadow could be like that.

* * *

He's nervous and he doesn't really know why. He's never been good with stuff like this, so when Uncle Chuck tried to get him to lay flat on the metal table, of course he tensed up and nearly bolted.

"It's not going to take long, Sonny. Just a few scans and then you can go," Chuck tries in amusement, knowing to expect this kind of behavior from his nephew during the whole process. "You have to lay completely still for this to go by quickly."

Sonic frowns uncomfortably, glaring up at the scanner above him. "I know! Let's just get this done and over with already!"

Chuck could feel the sweat drop from the side of his head, and looking back at Rotor, he could tell the walrus felt the same way he did. Rotor just laughs, running a hand over his head.

"Alright, but remember, you have to stay still," he says, making Sonic's ears flatten in annoyance.

"I know!"

Deciding to just get on with it, Chuck turns and walks over to where Rotor sat at a computer, and the two started the scanning process.

Sonic jumped when the scanner made a loud whirring sound, a bright green light shooting down from it. With a scowl he closes his eyes, doing his best to stay still while the light went over him from head to toe, then back up. After a few seconds, a second light -this one red- went down from his head to toes again, then back up. A final blue light followed shortly after, before the green light came back on and went from side to side this time.

The process was followed by the other two lights doing the same thing, and by the time they were all done, Sonic felt like he just _needed _to get out of there.

"Now hold on, Sonny, not just yet. There's one more thing."

Oh, for the love of…

A bright light flashing from the scanner makes him jump and yelp in shock, squeezing his eyes tightly shut. Did they have to blind him?

"Don't move, Sonic," Rotor speaks up, making him grind his teeth together and groan loudly in displeasure.

Another flash, followed by two more, and he felt like he was really going to be blind. Even with his eyes closed he still saw the flashes.

"Done!" Chuck calls, and Sonic practically flies off the table, running over to the two, dusting himself off.

"It'll take a little while to analyze the data, and if we need to do more tests we'll let you know," Chuck says, ruffling the fur on top of the hero's head, making him scowl.

Pulling away, Sonic crosses his arms. "How long do you think it'll take?"

The two exchange looks, both shrugging.

"It depends, but hopefully not long," Rotor admits. "Don't worry; you'll be the first to know the results, Sonic."

Sonic frowns, feeling uneasy. Chuck must see it in his face, because he says something quietly to Rotor, before leading the teen out of the room.

In the hallway outside the scanner room, Chuck turns Sonic to face him and puts his hands on his shoulders. "You really haven't given a real opinion on this, Sonny, are you okay?"

Sonic looks down, playing with his gloves awkwardly. "I...don't know…"

He really didn't. This wouldn't be so hard if it weren't for the problem with Shadow...but even still it was a tough situation on its own.

"You have time, so take all of it that you need," Chuck says softly. "I know this is a huge thing, but we'll figure it all out. We don't even know if you are immortal for sure yet, so let's just see what the test results to, and go from there, okay?"

Sonic shakes his head. "I don't understand why I'm even like this, though. Mom and Dad don't even have any Chaos Energy in them at all, so why do I? I shouldn't, logically at least."

Chuck closes his eyes and sighs. "I...don't know, Sonny. You've always been different, but look at all the good that's come out of it."

Yeah, all the good, Sonic thought bitterly. This bond with Shadow wasn't good, none of it was. It was nice to be able to use the Chaos Emeralds; he couldn't imagine Mobius still being alive if he didn't have that ability, but did the price he had to pay for that ability have to be so high?

"I guess," he mutters, feeling selfish but tired of being selfless at the same time.

He feels his uncle pull him into a hug, and he sighs, closing his eyes.

"Sonic, I see everything you go through every day and it hurts, you know? I wish things weren't the way they were, and if I could go back, stop Eggman before he even started, I would, but I can't, and the consequences for my actions are falling on you. If I could take it all from you, I would. I'm sorry you have to go through all this," the older hedgehog says quietly, and Sonic swallows the lump that formed in his throat.

"It's not your fault, Uncle Chuck...you didn't know what would happen…" he mumbles.

"Maybe not, but it isn't fair to you," Chuck sighs, running his hand through the hero's quills. "You're just a kid, for Gaia's sake."

Sonic goes quiet, unable to find the motivation to respond to that. Normally he would try to make his Uncle feel better, but he just...didn't have it in him to. Maybe it was because he agreed with him. He was just a kid, and never got to be a kid, and now with this immortality...with this bond with Shadow…

He pulls back, turning to look away. "I'm fine," he says, hoping he didn't sound as choked as he felt. "Like you said, I have time, so...that's all I need…"

Chuck stares at him for a minute, before sighing again. "Sonny, talk to your parents. Ask them what's on your mind. Get it all off your chest."

Sonic frowns, looking back at him. "What answers should I be looking for?" Did his uncle know something? Were his parents hiding something from him?

Chuck gives him a weak smile. "I can't say, that's between you and your parents."

Sonic's frown deepens. They were definitely hiding something from him.

* * *

Shadow glances at his wrist communicator, frowning at the time. Sonic's energy has jumped up and down all day, but seemed to settle somewhere in the middle after every jolt. The last week went by surprisingly fair. He didn't talk or see Sonic outside of what Rouge liked to call their 'business,' and those moments were as brief as he could make them.

When Sonic announced he was going home at the end of the week, Shadow had been in the kitchen with Rouge, and felt something akin to...possessiveness build in his chest.

He hadn't wanted Sonic to leave.

Of course, he didn't admit that, but that's how he felt. Every second Sonic was gone his mind was on him, and he couldn't help it no matter what he did. He had the inner urge to just keep Sonic locked up in a room all to himself, and it was starting to freak himself out.

Why was he like this?

It had to be his energy, he had decided, and so he reread all the texts from Angel Island and found some interesting information.

Some Light Chaos Born suffered from something they called 'Chaotic Possession.' It occured when there was great resistance between the two Chaos Born, and the more negativity between the two, the stronger the Light Chaos Born would be affected.

His energy was taking control of him like a demon, making him act out and do things he didn't want to. Stop him from doing things he wanted to.

Like apologize.

For some reason, he just...didn't have the metal strength to fight it. Normally he would be against anything trying to control him, but…

He just didn't _feel _like it.

Putting his face in his hands where he stood in the middle of a shady woods, he rubs his eyes and takes in a deep breath.

It was like he wasn't even himself anymore.

Shaking his head, he lets his hands fall to his sides and frowns at nothing in particular. All he had to do was make it through this Season, and hopefully Sonic's immortality could be taken care of. That way the bond would break and they could go back to normal.

To rivals.

Something about that thought, however, made his gut twist and a feeling of dread creep through him.

* * *

Bernie looks up at the boy standing in her kitchen doorway and smiles brightly, putting down the baking pan and walking over to him to pull him into a tight hug.

"Sonic! I was wondering when you would come to see us!" she says happily, pulling back to look at him. He gives her a weak smile, turning to see Jules enter the kitchen from the hallway, who walked over, happy as well.

"Yeah, umm, I wanted to talk to you guys about something…" the blue hero starts, running his hand through his quills nervously, watching their expressions go from happy to confused and worried.

"Of course, son, what's up?" Jules asks. He could tell this was a serious matter, watching Sonic shift uncomfortably from one foot to the other.

"Um, has Uncle Chuck talked to you about my um...immortality?"

He guessed not by the looks of shock he received.

"What?" Jules asks before Bernie can, and Sonic takes in a shaky breath.

"Can we...sit down?"

* * *

"We had no idea," Bernie admits, watching her son play with his quills again; a nervous habit he's had his whole life.

"The thing is…" Sonic says, not meeting their worried gazes. "...it just doesn't make sense. Why am I like this? You guys...aren't Chaos Born. There's no way I should be. The last people to be Chaos Born were the Royal Family of Mobius, and they disappeared the same time all the Chaos Born were wiped out."

The two parents exchange looks, and Sonic looks up in time just to see them.

They looked guilty.

"What...are you guys hiding from me?" he asks hesitantly, almost not wanting to know.

Taking in a breath and closing her eyes, Bernie puts her hands together, giving her husband a questioning look. At his nod, she reaches for and grabs Sonic's hands, and the dread he's feeling grows because something about this is going to be bad and he knows it.

"Sonic, sweetheart… We had liked to believe we would never have to tell you this, but we always considered this could happen. You're a smart boy, and you put things together easily, so no matter what you would always figure things out on your own," she pauses, noticing how pale he was.

Jules takes over, seeing it as well. "Sonic, you are right to question why Bernie and I aren't Chaos Born. You see, we…"

...and he knows he should expect it but he doesn't want to hear it.

"...we're not your real parents."


	7. Six - Breaking

**Chapter Six - Breaking**

He feels like he's running through a spiral maze, where it's all falling apart around him, but it's pitch black and he can't see, so he doesn't know when he's going to just hit the edge and fall off to his death.

...not like he could die, anyway.

"W-What…?" he barely gets out, and the two people in front of him who he thought were family, give him looks full of so much concern it disgusted him.

"Sonic," Bernie says softly, running her thumb over his hands still in her hold, "you were given to us at only six months old. Your Uncle Chuck knew your real parents, actually worked _for _them before he and Jules worked for the Acorn family."

Sonic is at a loss for words as Jules takes over the explanation. "Your parents were the last Chaos Born to live on the planet, before they were found and sent away. When the Chaos Born were wiped out so many years ago, they weren't killed, but sent to another dimension. The Royal Family was strong enough to go into hiding without being found out, and they continued the family line as long as they could."

He could see where this was leading up, and let Jules continue explaining.

"Your mother's name was Aleena. She never said who your father was. You were the third child she gave birth to but the only one to survive. You were suppose to be a triplet, but your brother and sister, Sonia and Manic, did not make it from an incurable illness they obtained when they were a month old. When Aleena knew she was going to be caught, she gave you to Charles, and he gave you to us."

He, the fastest thing alive, couldn't keep up with what he was being told. His brain just couldn't process it all.

"You," Bernie begins quietly, "are the last Chaos Born on the planet, and have the blood of the Mobian Royal Family in you. It seems Chaos wants you here for a specific reason we don't know of yet."

No…

He couldn't take any more of this…

He just wanted a _break._

He pulls his hands away from Bernie and pushes his chair back, not sure what he wanted to do but feeling like he just had to do _something_.

"Sonic?"

The room felt like it was shrinking around him, and if he didn't get out he would suffocate. He pushes himself up to his feet, his legs shaking underneath him.

"Sonic, wait a minute," Jules calls, but he doesn't listen. He needs to get _out_.

First the bond. Then he's immortal. Now his parents really aren't his parents and he's the son to the last Queen of Mobius that is now gone…

"Sonic-!"

He takes a step, and that's when his vision suddenly goes black and the last thing he remembers is his _fake _parents calling his name as he hits the floor.

* * *

She's just hanging up the phone with a certain panda when she steps in the kitchen, seeing Shadow sitting in his favorite spot: the large windowsill in the back of the room, cup of coffee in his hands as he stared out the window.

She leans against the doorframe, watching him until he looks over at her with a frown on his tan muzzle.

"You miss him?" she asks, causing his ears to pin back and him to turn his head, looking back outside. Walking over, she sits on the other side of the window, giving him a knowing smirk. "I can tell you do. Why don't you try to fix things with him? Sonic's a forgiving person."

"He hates me," Shadow stated simply, taking a sip of his drink. Rouge frowned, putting her hands around her one knee as she drew it up comfortably to her chest.

"Maybe because you won't apologize. He feels like shit, Shadow, and has a lot going on besides this bond. Any ease you can give him would quickly make him feel better about you."

"Doubtful," Shadow shrugs, finishing his drink and standing up. Rouge sighs, her fur bristling slightly in annoyance.

"You're so ignorant," she comments, making him glare at her out of the corner of his eye as he sets the cup down on the counter. "You're not going to fix things like this. Apologizing is better than nothing."

"Why don't you worry about your own problems and-..." he stops suddenly, freezing in place as if hearing or seeing something that she didn't.

"Shadow?"

His brows furrow and a deep frown curves his lips, and he looks over to the doorway of the kitchen.

"Something happened…" he murmured, almost sounding lost in thought.

"What do you mean something happened?" Rouge asks, quickly standing up. "Something with Sonic?"

Shadow seems to be trying to concentrate, looking down at the floor.

Why was he even caring? he asked himself. Whatever it was Sonic could handle it.

"Nevermind," he mutters, walking out of the kitchen, leaving the bat girl to stand there in utter confusion.

With a frown, she puts her hands on her hips, figuring she was just going to have to find out on her own.

* * *

Tails followed closely behind the chipmunk as they made their way to the room where the yelling was coming from. Chuck was behind them, panic etched on his face.

They could catch glimpses of words, none of them sounding good.

Sonic had never sounded so upset before.

"...why didn't you _just tell me?!_"

"Sonic, we promised to-!"

"_I don't care!_ I deserved to _know!"_

Opening the bedroom door, they're greeted with the sight of Sonic barely able to stand, leaning back against the wall next to a bed, while both Bernie and Jules stood a few feet back, all three hedgehogs in complete and utter distress.

The most noticeable feature here, were the tears running down Sonic's face.

Sonic was crying.

All Tails could think of, is _why _was his brother crying?

Feeling suddenly super protective, the fox runs over to his brother and grabs his hand, startling the shaken hedgehog who looked at him with wide, glossy green eyes.

"What's going on?" Sally asks demandingly, getting over her shock at the sight before her. Charles pushes past her and steps in front of the three hedgehogs, holding up his hands.

"That's enough, alright! Back off and let him be for a moment," he tells Jules and Bernie, before looking back at Sonic, his voice softening. "Look, Sonny, I'm sorry we never told you, but your mother practically begged us not to with her life. We agreed we would only tell you once you started to figure it out on your own."

"His mother…?" Sally murmurs, and Tails frowns, studying the older hedgehog cautiously.

"Then how many other lies are you keeping from me?" Sonic asks, voice choked. "This isn't the first time you've done this to me! Why can't you just tell me everything and be done with it?!"

"Sonic…" Chuck starts, but the hero cuts him off immediately.

"No! If you're not going to just tell me everything than don't talk to me at all! I'm so sick and tired of everyone lying to me all the time!" he exclaims.

He slumps down to the floor, and Tails sits down next to him, wrapping his arms around him. Sonic doesn't care, just falls into the fox's embrace, because he just really needed it, and Sally takes that opportunity to speak up.

"Leave him with us," she says to the three hedgehogs across from them. "He obviously doesn't want you here right now, so just let us figure this out."

Chuck sighs, nodding in agreement. "Alright." Turning, he motions for his brother and sister-in-law to follow him out, and with worried looks towards Sonic, they hesitantly left.

When the door is closed, Sally walks over and sits on the other side of Sonic, hugging him as well.

"What happened?" she asks softly, and he shakes his head.

"They're not my parents."

What.

The two friends exchanged shocked looks, before looking back at the still-trembling blue hedgehog between them.

* * *

_Two Months Ago…_

"_Yo, Shads!"_

_The black and red hedgehog turns his head with a frown, seeing the flash of blue fade into the shape of a hedgehog, who stopped beside him with a smirk on his face._

"_What do you want?" he asks, not in the mood for conversation, especially from the obnoxious hero._

_Sonic chuckles and holds out his hands, revealing a black box with a red bow on top and a card taped to it. "Happy birthday!"_

_Shadow just stared. "What?"_

_Sonic rolled his eyes, giving him a proud smile. "Well, you see, when Rouge was going through stuff on the ARK back before we went Super and had that awesome battle, she found out when your birthday was, and so I decided to get you something for it!"_

_The biohog didn't know how to respond._

_Maria was the only one that ever celebrated birthdays with him. Gerald was never around for stuff like that. He didn't think he'd ever hear someone tell him happy birthday again in his immortal life, and yet here was Sonic, the idiot, doing just that._

"_Well don't just stand there; here!" Sonic chirped, shoving the box in his hands. He takes it, not sure how to process this, and only blinks when Sonic laughs at the look on his face. "Open it, faker!"_

_Shadow frowns, but does what he's told, and when he opens the box, he pulls out a brand new camera._

"_A camera?"_

_Sonic winks at him. "It makes it easier to remember things when you have a picture of it. This way you can keep your memories at hand, so you'll never have to worry about losing them again."_

_That...was touching._

_Almost too touching._

_One of his biggest fears was losing his memories again. It was a nightmare trying to figure out who he was and where he came from, and forgetting Maria was probably the worst of all. _

"_You can record and take pictures with that camera, then upload it to a computer or wherever you want," Sonic explained. "Tails does it all the time."_

_Sonic...not only went out of his way to get him something for his birthday, but something with so much meaning behind it, it almost hurt._

"_...Thank you," he says quietly, and Sonic smiles brightly._

"_You're welcome, Shadow. I hope you enjoy it."_

He never opened the card that came with the camera. He...just didn't want to for some dumb reason. He's used the camera, he's actually used it a lot. He took pictures of nearly everything he could think of with it, maybe a little overboard with it. He took pictures of Rouge when she wasn't paying attention, and pictures of Omega, and pictures of the G.U.N. base, and pictures of Towers, and that human girl Topaz that Rouge loves, and the girl named Hope that looks like Maria, and the doctor's bases. He's taken pictures of his favorite spots on Mobius, like the woods near the Sapphire Sea, Holoska, and Adabat.

He only had one picture of Sonic. The one Sonic took with him when he showed him how to use the camera. He got the picture printed, and kept it in the box with the camera and unopened card.

Was he a bad person?

He didn't think so. Maria always told him he was meant to be the _good _in the world, but...was he?

No, Sonic was.

Staring at the picture as he laid on his back in his bed, he studied the blue hedgehog, from his bright cobalt fur, to the way the sun was reflecting off of his emerald green eyes, to the bright smile stretched across his muzzle.

Sonic tried to be his friend.

...and he fucked it up.

A knock on his bedroom door caught his attention, and he sits up, shoving the picture in his nightstand and frowning at the door. "Come in."

Well and behold, it was Sonic.

...Sonic looked like he had been crying.

He wasn't in heat yet, either, which confused him as to why the hedgehog was even here.

"I don't know…" Sonic murmured, "when my next heat is, and I didn't want to be in the wrong place at the wrong time when it hit, so…"

Shadow frowns, gesturing for the hedgehog to come in since he was already here, and Sonic walks in, shutting the door behind him.

He could feel it in Sonic's energy; something was seriously wrong. Whatever had happened earlier must have been bad, especially if it was enough to get Sonic to _cry_.

He scoots over and lets Sonic sit on the bed, and the blue hero scoots so his back is against the wall, and leans his head back, closing his eyes.

Truth is, Sonic just wanted to be near him.

The blue hedgehog wasn't sure why, but after explaining the situation to Tails and Sally, he just...felt like seeing Shadow. Maybe it was because his energy was in distress because his emotions were, and vise versa, so he wanted that stability of his mate to help calm him down, or something like that. It was his best guess, but he was at least glad Shadow had actually let him come in.

He feels the bed move and opens an eye to see Shadow lay down on his back, the black and red hedgehog throwing an arm over his eyes.

He had the urge to lay down with him.

Shaking that thought from his head quickly, the blue hedgehog closes his eyes again and tries to relax.

It was after a half hour of just sitting there, that Shadow felt the bed move slightly, and when he looked over he saw Sonic slowly leaning to one side, asleep.

He acts on autopilot, sitting up to gently pull the blue hedgehog down to lay next to him, and wraps and arm around him. Sonic snuggles into him, and he feels warmth blossom in his chest, and it's pleasant.

He shouldn't be doing this...he thinks to himself. Sonic was going to be mad, but…

Closing his eyes, he decides that just this once was okay.

* * *

It was maybe an hour later when a jolt of Chaos Energy woke him up.

Sonic wasn't in the bed, but the bathroom light was on, door cracked. Getting up, he walks over and pushes the door open, seeing Sonic on the floor, knees drawn up to his chest and his face down and hidden.

"Faker," Shadow snaps, not meaning to sound as harsh as he did but unable to help it, making Sonic jump and look up in surprise.

Sonic's face was _red, _an obvious sign he was well into his heat, and Shadow kneels down, grabbing for his arms and pulling him up. Sonic huffs, letting Shadow pull him to his feet, as shaky as they were.

"You should have woken me up," Shadow says, reaching to pick Sonic up bridal style and carry him back into the bedroom. Sonic glared weakly up at him, his hands subconsciously going down to cover his crotch. There was already secretion dripping from in between his legs, making Shadow wonder how long Sonic had been in heat before he woke up.

"I didn't want to piss you off," Sonic muttered, making Shadow frown.

He doesn't have an answer for that, and just sets Sonic down on the bed and climbs over him, unsnapping the inhibitors on the hero's fawn wrists and tossing them aside. Sonic shuddered the moment they came off, unable to help the violent trembles his body suddenly had. The blast of Chaos Energy hits them both and Shadow loses it, leaning down to capture Sonic's mouth with his own, and Sonic grabs the blankets beneath him, heart racing and crotch throbbing.

Shadow was getting better at this.

Last week, they got into two fights right before they had to take care of Sonic's heat, and both times they threw each other around until they were both covered in enough scrapes and bruises to realize they needed to just take care of the issue at hand. He had been rough, but the times afterwards he was more gentle, took more care.

As long as they weren't both pissed off before they had to do this, they should be fine.

Shadow grabs his right thigh and spreads it open and out of the way so he can slide his knees in between the hero's legs, opening them wide enough to press their crotches together and make Sonic let out a weak moan. He rocks his hips, watching Sonic's expression as the cobalt hero gasped and arched his back, eyes squeezing shut and brows furrowing. Reaching under the younger's head, he grabs a handful of blue quills and uses that leverage to force Sonic's body to meet his own as he rocked into him again, wringing out another gasp and whine in reward.

He couldn't deny it any longer; he enjoyed this. Enjoyed doing this to Sonic. He knew his energy could make him feel that way, but it was just that, everytime they did this, he couldn't get enough. Like he could just keep going at this and never stopping, no matter how much Sonic wanted him to.

"_Shad-Ah~!" _Sonic gasped out, feeling the finger Shadow had circling his entrance finally push in, curling and thrusting inside him with so much force his head almost hit the wall.

"What was that, Sonic?" Shadow hisses in his ear, making Sonic whimper and a shiver to run through his body. Shadow _hardly _ever called him by his name…

"I.._-ah! Haahhhh…_" Sonic meowed out, eyelids fluttering, unable to stay just open or just closed, mouth open and sweat dripping down the side of his face. He looked like a prize ready to be devoured, and honestly, he really _was _a prize.

Sonic, the strongest creature on the planet next to himself, who never surrenders or gives up a fight, broken beneath him in a shivering, panting, moaning mess.

He couldn't help it, he couldn't get enough.

He leans down and presses butterfly kisses across the hedgehog's neck, while adding a second finger to the action down in between strong blue thighs, making Sonic stutter out a moan and buck his hips, breath hitching followed by a soft whine.

Shadow rests his forehead against Sonic's, and they meet eyes; glazed emerald against fierce ruby, making warmth fill their chests like every time they had a moment like this, until Shadow spread his fingers, curled, and thrusted up, nailing Sonic's sweet spot.

"_Aahaaa!" _Sonic cries out, hands clawing and back arching, eyes squeezing shut and a hot huff of air leaving him. He could have sworn he saw stars, the pressure in between his legs unbearable now, and he felt like he was just two seconds from going over. _"Sha-Shadow...I-I'm-ahhhahhhAH!"_

He grabbed the hero's member and squeezed hard, making Sonic completely unfold, the hero screaming out as white overtook him.

Precum was dripping heavily from the submissive hedgehog's tip, and Shadow knew very well that Sonic was going to cum very soon, and was debating on if he should make him do it now and just fuck him after, or make him wait and drive him beyond insane.

He decides on the latter and presses his thumb heavily down on the hero's tip, making him groan in distress and jolt in his hold. _"Shadowwww…"_

He pulls his fingers from the quivering male and repositions himself, grabbing those svelte blue hips and lifting them to meet his own. Sonic whined, panting loudly, body completely limp besides the trembles that shook him every few seconds.

Shadow only gives him a second to prepare before he's slamming in, hard and fast, making Sonic arch off the bed and writhe as a silent scream broke his lips.

"_Ahhhhhgodssss...I," _Sonic cried, wrapping his arms around Shadow's shoulders and burying his face into the crook of his neck. _"Ah~I can't!"_

Shadow presses kisses along the hero's neck, before lunching his teeth into the sensitive flesh, making Sonic squeal and jerk in his arms.

He kept a hand on Sonic's member, knowing that the moment he let go Sonic was done for. He wanted this to last, as bad as it was. He was going to enjoy every second of this no matter how much his mind screamed at him to stop.

One thrust has Sonic tensing and meowling out, making it all the tighter around his own cock and causing him to keen, growling in a blue neck.

"_F-Fuck," _he huffs, voice hoarse, feeling Sonic shudder from it. The hero was just so hot, wet, tight…

"_Sha-" _Sonic pants, fingers digging into his back, and Shadow can tell he can't hold it anymore. He rears back and thrusts forward, at the same time letting go and squeezing the hero's tip roughly, making Sonic cry out loudly beneath him. He curses as he cums, feeling Sonic tense up at the feeling, before he collapses on top of the shivering hero, both spent.


	8. Seven - Making Plans

**Chapter Seven - Making Plans**

When he woke up in the morning he felt like shit.

He had left Club Rouge right after he and Shadow were done with their...business, and went home knowing he was going to probably oversleep. Surprisingly when he looked at the time he saw he still had a half hour before the meeting, so he was just fine.

Well, he was fine until he stood up and his Chaos Energy hit him full swing.

Then he realizes in horror that he forgot the inhibitors at Club Rouge.

How could he _not _remember to put his inhibitors back on?! Curses start flying from his mouth as he dresses quickly, feeling heat travel through his body more and more the faster he moved. Hopefully he could just get to Club Rouge, grab the inhibitors and put them on before his energy really attacked him.

Well, using Chaos Control was out of the picture at this point.

He runs out of his house and through Mobotropolis in a blur of blue, hoping Sally would let him being just a few minutes late slide.

* * *

The club was completely closed when he got there, meaning Rouge and Shadow probably were at G.U.N. or something. He grabs the spare key from behind the neon sign next to the door and lets himself in, rushing to Shadow's room to grab the inhibitors. They were sitting in the bathroom, meaning he must have carried them in there with him when he showered and just left them there by accident.

He puts them on, feeling his energy practically whine at the restrictions, and sighs, leaning against the bathroom wall in relief, ears and quills drooping.

He looks at the time on his communicator, seeing he still had twenty minutes before the meeting, feeling slightly victorious at his timing.

He turns off the bathroom light and leaves, stopping to take a moment and examine Shadow's room. This was the second time he was actually in the dark hedgehog's room, as he usually stayed in one of the guest rooms upstairs when he stayed here. Shadow's room looked like it was originally supposed to be for storage, but was renovated into a bedroom with an added on bathroom. He didn't have much here, besides the bed, nightstand, dresser and small desk, and the medium sized cardboard box sitting at the foot of the bed taped closed. The room was relatively bare, with hardwood floors and grey walls, a small black rug in the shape of a circle on the floor next to the bed.

It was so bare you could almost mistake it for one of the guest rooms.

He wondered how often Shadow was actually here. Now that he thought about it, didn't Shadow have a cabin or something in the woods near the ocean? Yeah, that's right, he _did_.

That place almost completely escaped his memory. Why have a guest room here if he had a cabin all to himself? Did he just like here better? That was unlikely; Shadow hated people, and this place was always filled with people when Rouge wasn't working at G.U.N. He couldn't see this being a place Shadow just hung out.

The cardboard box at the foot of the bed catches his eye, and he walks over, tilting his head at it. It looked new, unlike everything else in this room. Maybe he moved out of the cabin? Why? Because he had brought Sonic there?

That...sounded like something Shadow would do.

If he really wanted a place to himself, he would move if someone found out where that place was. Sonic understood that, at least. He was the same way. Shadow probably ditched the cabin because he wanted to set up somewhere that not even Sonic would know.

Shaking the thoughts out of his head, he reminds himself that he has a meeting to go to, so he turns to leave, when something catches his eye.

A picture on the nightstand.

He's stubbornly curious, so he walks over to investigate, and to his surprise, it's the picture he took with Shadow, back when he gave him that camera for his birthday. He picks it up, staring in confusion.

Shadow printed the picture out and kept it? It had creases in it, indicating it was folded quite a bit, probably carried or hidden somewhere, but why?

He's not sure what to think of it, but it makes him feel better.

Maybe Shadow didn't actually hate him, he thinks. Maybe that's just, how he came across.

...but if Shadow didn't hate him, why would he have…?

He shakes his head again. He really needed to get going. Besides, he shouldn't be hanging around in his rival's room, even if they were mates. He stares at the picture for a minute, wondering if Shadow would notice if it was gone…

Something tells him to _take _it. It was a strange feeling, one that said, 'You came here for a reason,' even if that reason was to simply get his inhibitors.

The feeling is strong, and with a frown, he folds up the picture and slides it in his glove, wondering why he was even listening to it.

He leaves, making sure to lock the club up as he goes, heading back to Mobotropolis at top speed.

* * *

"_INTRUDER ALERT: SECTIONS FOUR TO SIX"_

Robots exploded as the black blur came into contact with them, slicing them in halves and bouncing from wall to wall in a fury.

Rouge smirks as she flies not too far behind, Omega right on her tail obliterating anything Shadow missed.

"EGGMAN SIGNATURE DETECTED IN UPPER LEVEL," the robot informed, and Rouge gave him a thumbs up.

"Thanks hon. Shadow! Up a floor!"

The ball of spikes bounced off the wall at the end of the hallway, hit the floor with a thunderous pound, before it shot back up through the ceiling, metal sparking and pieces falling down.

Flying up through the hole to follow him, Rouge turns and watches Omega activate his jets and fly up to join them, and after sharing a nod, the two turn to see Shadow dusting himself off, the usual scowl on his face.

"He's not here," the Ultimate Lifeform stated simply, nodding to the control console, void of the doctor.

Rouge frowns, walking over to the computers to investigate. "He couldn't have left _that _quickly, unless he can teleport now."

"SIGNATURE STILL DETECTED IN IMMEDIATE AREA," Omega announces, the robot now walking around to scan everything in sight.

Rouge started trying to hack into the doctor's computers, while Shadow started helping Omega in looking around.

Ever since Dark Sonic completely demolished the doctor's latest plans, Eggman's been missing. The plan between the Resistance and G.U.N. was to find the doctor as soon as possible and take him in, yet both teams were coming up empty handed.

This was the third defeat Eggman suffered in a row by the hands of Dark Sonic. The madman was most likely going to start finding ways around Sonic's new weapon, because it was starting to become a real issue for him.

Shadow frowned. The thought of Eggman actually finding a way to knock down Dark Sonic gave him a terrible feeling in his gut.

Then he stops.

Dark Sonic…

If Sonic gave up his immortality, his Chaos Energy, while Eggman is trying to find a way to take out their strongest weapon; Sonic's dark form, then what were they going to do? It would be a huge risk and heavy hit towards the Resistance, and Shadow would be the only one -maybe besides Knuckles- that would be able to use the emeralds' power to take the doctor out, and as much as he didn't want to admit it…

...Super Shadow didn't stand a chance against Dark Sonic.

He looks over at Rouge, still at work, clenching his hands into fists. She was right, he needed to apologize.

'_**No you don't.'**_

His ears fly up and he looks around, seeing only Omega and Rouge other than himself, and a chill goes through him.

'_**You are more than capable of handling any threat. It's what you were created to do. The world doesn't need Sonic.'**_

Who...was saying that?

It was a distorted voice that didn't sound like a male, female, or robot. It was hard to describe, other than the fact that it chilled him out and…

It was right.

He blinks, rubbing his forehead.

Yes, he didn't need to apologize. Everything was fine. Sonic could do whatever he wanted. Shadow could very well handle Eggman and anything that attacked the planet.

What was he even thinking?

He looks up and sees Omega staring at him, and he raises a brow, silently questioning him. The robot turns his head, not saying a word.

What was _his _deal?

"Oh, come on!" Rouge exclaims bitterly, catching the two's attention. Shadow walks over, crossing his arms.

"You can't get in?"

The bat girl shakes her head. "No, no matter what I do. There's got to be good information on here if he's got it this locked up. I might not be able to access it myself. This is more of a job for someone like Tails." She then pauses, turning to look back at him. "You wouldn't mind going to get him, would you?"

"Are you serious?" he deadpans, glaring at her.

"Don't give me that look. This is our only chance at figuring out where Eggman is, and G.U.N. would take too long to figure it out. If anyone can get this going it's that foxboy, so go get him," she huffs at him.

The last thing he wanted was to go anywhere near Mobotropolis, but she was unfortunately right. With a scowl, he unfolds his arms. "Fine. I'll be right back."

With a mutter of Chaos Control, he's gone in a blue flash. Rouge sighs and turns to Omega, raising a brow at him. "Alright big boy, talk. What's got you looking at him like that?"

Omega doesn't look at her as he answers, scanning a wall. "HE IS EMITTING STRANGE ENERGY SIGNALS. HE HAS TWO DIFFERENT ENERGY SIGNATURES."

Rouge blinks. "Two? What do you mean it's strange?"

"HE SHOULD ONLY HAVE ONE ENERGY SIGNATURE: HIS OWN, HOWEVER HE IS EMITTING TWO SEPARATE SIGNATURES, ONE IS NOT HIS OWN."

Sonic, she thinks with a frown. This was the first time Omega has seen Shadow since the bonding, so that's probably what it was.

The robot however, continues. "HIS OWN ENERGY SIGNATURE IS CORRUPTED."

Rouge fully turns to face him, then. "His own? Not the other energy source?"

"THE OTHER ENERGY SIGNATURE IS STABLE, SHADOW'S IS NOT. SOMETHING IS NEGATIVELY AFFECTING IT, CORRUPTING IT."

That...sounded bad. The girl crosses her arms, leaning back on the control console. "How bad do you think it is? What's it doing to Shadow?"

"I DO NOT KNOW, HOWEVER IT COULD POSSIBLY CAUSE HIM TO ACT OR DO THINGS HE NORMALLY WOULDN'T. FINDING THE CAUSE IS HIGHLY ADVISABLE."

She forgot Omega knew a lot about Chaos. Tapping her fingers on her arm, she purses her lips. "Can I tell you a secret?"

He turns and looks at her, his silence his way of saying yes.

"That other energy source? It's Sonic's. Do you know about Chaos Bonds?"

* * *

Sonic jumped as he felt his energy spike suddenly without warning. Nobody seems to notice, but he sat up a bit more alert, frowning. His body was in an uncomfortable state between heat, thanks to his forgetfulness, and he knew the moment this meeting was over he was going to have to find Shadow or lock himself up in his room or something.

He just hoped the meeting went by quickly.

"We're going to split us all into teams in order to make the most progress," Sally was saying, pointing at a projector image on the wall behind her. They were all sitting at a round table in the meeting room, going over the plan. "We're going to have four different teams. Bunnie, Antoine, and Rotor, you're on Team A. Team B is going to be myself, Nicole, and Amy, and Team C, Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles."

Sally actually making good teams? Sonic was impressed. She was _learning_.

"Uh, not be rude but," he says, raising his hand with a lopsided smirk, "Knuckles isn't exactly here."

She rolls her eyes but smiles. "I called and talked to him already, he's going to meet you guys at the place I'm sending you to, which brings us to where each team will be investigating. I'm giving each team two locations to look through, places Eggman has a higher chance of hiding out. Follow any clues you can when you find them."

"You really think he's gonna go back to those old places?" Bunnie has to ask. "Ah mean, he's done it so often, and last time he wasn't near any of em."

Sally frowns. "Not all of these places are old. In the past month Nicole and I have been searching all over for places of suspicion, not just old bases. Sonic's team will be the only ones visiting an old base."

Sonic and Tails share a look, while Bunnie perks up. "So what's so special 'bout these places?"

Nicole, who was sitting in a chair behind Sally speaks up. "Each of these places either give off Chaos signals or robot sightings in the area. If there's a chance of a Chaos Emerald, there's a good chance of Eggman nearby."

"It would be nice if we still had the emeralds," Antoine mutters under his breath, making Sonic bristle over in his chair.

"Sorry, I was unconscious, Ant," the blue hero speaks up. "Next time I'll just let _you _take care of the emeralds, cool?"

"Guys," Sally starts before Antoine can make a comment back. "The Chaos Emeralds being scattered was probably for the best. If they're out there, Eggman will make an attempt to grab them, and we can catch him that way. If we had them all he wouldn't have any reason to crawl out of wherever he's hiding."

Antoine glares over at Sonic as the hedgehog stuck his tongue out at him.

"Now," Sally says, pointing to the board again, "Nicole will be sending everyone to their locations. Sonic, the base you guys will be going to is unfortunately the one near Spagonia. Are you okay with that?"

Everyone could tell by the scowl on the hero's face that he wasn't, and for good reason.

That was the base Eggman had caught Sonic only a month ago and had him there for a few weeks, until the Resistance could break in there. Sonic never talked about what happened there, but they all knew it wasn't good. Getting in the base proved to be a nightmare, and they eventually needed the help of G.U.N. to actually get in there. Eggman at one point held Sonic at gunpoint, said if the Resistance even dared to step foot in the base he would blow Sonic's head off. During the rescue mission, Sonic went Dark again, and nearly destroyed the entire base and everyone in it.

"Yeah, why not?" Sonic shrugs, looking away. The only reason he could see Sally choosing his team for the place was because he himself knew that place well enough because of being locked in there, Tails was the one that did the most research on it, and Knuckles was the one that ran through the place holding an unconscious Sonic after his Dark form dissipated.

Sally gives him a worried look but nods. "Alright, then it's settled. The sooner we find Eggman, the better."

Everyone nods in agreement. Sonic feels another shudder go through him, and he frowns. His energy was really starting to jump at him, now. Odd, it felt like it was reacting to something in particular…

There's a knock on the meeting room doors, and Nicole goes over to answer it while the Freedom Fighters start to chat at the table. Sonic knew the moment she opened the door who it was, and why his energy was spiking.

_Why _was Shadow here?

Sally sees him the same time Sonic does, and calls for everyone to go. Tails walks over to where Sonic sat as everyone left the room, the hedgehog suddenly very tense, eyes glued to Shadow as he walks in.

"Shadow, what brings you?" Sally asks, confused. Shadow never came here unless it was something hugely important.

"Rouge needs Tails's help in hacking into a computer of the doctor's," he says, his eyes falling over to Sonic for a brief second. "Apparently she thinks she's found something, but she can't access it."

"Isn't that what G.U.N.'s for?" Sonic asks, the older brother in him not liking this. "Why can't she just take it to them?"

Shadow's eyes narrow slightly, and he glares at the hero. "It would take them far too long, and we don't have much time."

Sonic glares back, before looking over at Tails and raising an eyebrow. The two brothers seemed to have a whole conversation just by looking at each other, and Tails looks at Shadow with a frown.

"I'll help, but Sonic's coming, too."

Shadow feels a vessel pop somewhere in his head, but lets it slide.

"I don't care, let's just go."

Great, Sonic thinks glumly. Shadow was in a terribly bad mood.

With a wave to Sally, the three Chaos Control away.

* * *

Chaos Control was a _bad _idea.

Sonic had to make an excuse as to why he yelped when Tails gave him a worried look. Shadow was glaring heavily at the blue hedgehog, and when they got to where Rouge and Omega were, the tension between the two hedgehogs was almost noticeable.

Rouge looks up and smiles at both Sonic and Tails, her gaze lingering on Sonic just a bit longer before she called Tails over to the computer, the two immediately starting in their hacking process.

Sonic recognized the base they were in. This was the base he rode a missile all the way up and through the glass in the front, hence the giant hole there now. Eggman had been furious.

Another wave of energy and warmth ran through him, and he shudders, looking over his shoulder at Shadow, whose eyes were locked on him like a predator about to pounce. He could tell by the way the ebony hedgehog's quills were bristled and the slightly pinned back direction of his ears that Shadow could feel his heat, and it was really affecting him, too. Those ruby red eyes were tracing every curve of his body and he could _feel _it, like he was being burned just by being looked at.

He looks back at Tails and Rouge, the latter of the two looking up just as he asked; "How long will this take?"

Rouge seems to get what he's _really _asking, looking at Tails with a raised brow. The fox shrugs. "It could take a little while. Hopefully no longer than twenty minutes?"

Rouge winks and Sonic turns around, knowing Shadow would be right behind him. "I'm gonna go explore then, let me know when you're done!"

Tails calls a quick okay before Sonic and Shadow are gone.

Rouge looks over at Omega, who had watched both hedgehogs run off.

* * *

"Maybe you should -_fuck- _not forget your damn inhibitors, idiot," Shadow growls into his ear, ramming his hips and making Sonic keen, hand over his mouth.

"_Ahhh..._Well, I wasn't planning on yo-ah_haaa! _You coming for a v-visit," Sonic argues back, ears pinning back.

Shadow had him pinned against a wall, blue legs wrapped around an ebony waist, the room they chose dark and filled with scrap metal all over the floor. The moment they had walked in, Shadow grabbed him by the shoulders and slammed him against the wall, not hesitating to start fucking the daylights out of him.

"This is still your fault," Shadow's voice was a growl, so low and menacing Sonic actually shivered because of it, whimpering when black hips snapped into his again.

Shadow reached up and grabbed the hero's muzzle, forcing him to meet his eyes. Sonic's mouth fell open, as if to argue back, but his back is grabbed by the biohog's other hand, forcing him to arch almost uncomfortably. Shadow thrusts _hard, _the angle the cobalt hedgehog is forced in giving Shadow clean access to his prostate, hitting it so hard Sonic can't stop the scream from leaving him, head falling back and eyes rolling, tongue falling out of his mouth. _"Oh Chaos-SHAAADOW!"_

Sonic's reaction almost made him lose it right there. That pretty but annoying mouth opened in shock, those emerald green eyes glazed over, fawn muzzle pink and shiny from sweat, the way his voice broke when he screamed his name…

Sonic wanted to curl up and disappear. He hoped no one had heard him, otherwise he would never be able to live it down. He couldn't help it though, and the way Shadow was holding tightly onto his muzzle, his mouth forced open, he couldn't stop the cries and moans from leaving his parted lips.

His head is back against the wall, while the rest of him is being held by Shadow, and he's wondering how the Ultimate Lifeform can hold onto him so well like this. He wanted to move, but Shadow wasn't having it, not giving him any space or time to try and adjust.

The black and red hedgehog couldn't get enough of the hero's face, and he's thinking of that camera of his, and maybe the next time they fuck he's going to take a picture of Sonic like _this_, hang it on his wall to piss the hero off every time he sees it.

"_Ohhhmmmmahh...I…" _Sonic moans out, hand covering his mouth again, making Shadow lean forward and bite those gloved fingers, growling. Sonic yipped and moved his hand, realizing Shadow didn't appreciate him muffling the sounds he was making, flushing darkly because of it.

They were both close, Shadow telling by the way Sonic was tensing up, and Sonic telling by the way Shadow's pace increased, leaning forward to put his face in his neck, teeth threatening to bite into already tender skin.

"Shadow…" Sonic pants, hands reach up to grab the other's quills, squeezing his eyes shut. The dark hedgehog growls in response, grabbing one of his arms and pinning it back against the wall, his other hand still holding onto Sonic's face, bringing his lips to meet those bruised fawn ones, and he thrusts one last time, making Sonic scream into his mouth, the two cumming at the same time.

* * *

"You find anything interesting?" Rouge asks, earning herself two murderous glares. Sonic's face was still red, and they looked like they had washed up in a lake and ran around to dry off, by the way some of their quills were out of place. Luckily Tails doesn't look up to notice, as he finishes downloading all the information onto two separate hard drives.

"Nothing," Sonic says through gritted teeth, making Rouge put a hand over her mouth to stifle her giggles.

"All done!" Tails chirps, oblivious to the two angry hedgehogs on the other side of the room. "I'm taking one copy, if you don't mind."

"Not at all, sweetheart," Rouge winks at him. "Don't know what I'd do without you."

He blushes and hands her the drive, before turning and running over to Sonic. Thankfully Sonic is able to pull his mask on quick enough before the fox can realize his sour mood. "You ready to go?" the hero asks, and Tails nods. "Good." He waves to Rouge and she blows him a kiss, not even glancing in Shadow's direction as he and Tails dash out in flashes of blue and yellow.

Team Dark is quiet, none of them moving for a moment, before Rouge addresses Shadow.

"I told Omega."

"What?!"

"I WOULD HAVE FOUND OUT ON MY OWN, ANYWAY."


	9. Eight - Shadow's Challenge

**Chapter Eight - Shadow's Challenge**

It had been awful.

"_Not so cocky now, are you hedgehog? What? No words to say? Don't be a sore loser, now."_

Sonic felt a heaviness on his chest grow as they walked up to the abandoned base, inwardly suppressing a chill that went through him. Knuckles wasn't here yet, and Tails was trying to cloak the Tornado a little ways away, so standing here by himself in front of a place he called _hell _was a bit unnerving to him.

He was trapped in here for about a month.

Every day it was something new. Eggman wouldn't let him live it down, and still brought it up to this day on how he was able to capture the hero and torture him for not only information, but for fun as well.

That was how Eggman was able to gather all seven Chaos Emeralds and build those ships that nearly destroyed Mobotropolis, because Sonic had told him where the emeralds were. He didn't mean to, he just wanted…

"Sonic?"

The cobalt mobian jumps and looks back and up above him, seeing Knuckles jump down from one of the tall trees around him. The echidna lands quietly next to him, his purple eyes studying him carefully.

"What's up, Knux?" Sonic forces a smile, hoping he sounded convincing enough. The guardian just narrows his eyes at him.

"Are you sure you're okay with going in there?" red has to ask. "I get it if you don't want to, you don't have to pretend it's fine."

Sonic looks away, face reddening in embarrassment and ears pinning back. "I'm okay. It's just another old base."

"_Sonic_," Knuckles tries, taking a step forward. "Look, at least if it bothers you too much, say something, alright?"

The Master Emerald Guardian was getting better at reading him. He really didn't want to go back into that base, but it was silly not to just because of what had happened there…

It...wasn't that big of a deal.

"Hey," Knuckles speaks up again, voice a bit softer. "Are you okay, though? Rouge told me about you possibly being immortal."

Sonic looks up, seeing the concern in his friend's face. "Yeah, I'm fine. It's just a lot to take in, I guess."

The echidna frowns. "I know, but your energy doesn't feel right, and I can tell something's wrong. You forget I can feel energy, Sonic. I know you're not really as fine as you claim to be." When Sonic's face pales, the echidna adds; "You can't keep it all in forever. That's why you've been going Dark so much."

Sonic crosses his arms, looking away again to completely avoid the echidna's stare. "You don't know anything so just leave it be," he snaps without meaning to, which only makes Knuckles's point stand. "I'm fine, just got a lot going on right now."

Knuckles has to hold back his own snap in reply, knowing that it wouldn't do either of them any good. He's learned the hard way arguing wasn't the way to go. He steps around to face the hedgehog, who glared at him with narrowed green eyes. "I mean it, Sonic," he tries. "I'm here whenever you need me."

Something about those words put a lump in Sonic's throat. The hedgehog looks away again, face reddening. How many times has he thought about telling Knuckles about his bond with Shadow? The guardian was the one that could put the Chaos Block on him, and protect him if Shadow decided to hurt him again, but if he told him it would only lead to Knuckles flipping out and hunting down Shadow to kill him, immortal or not.

That wasn't something he needed to deal with right now.

"Hey guys!" Tails calls, and Knuckles watches Sonic's mask come up instantly, the blue hero turning to smile at his self-proclaimed little brother.

"You get the cloak up?" the Hero of Mobius asks, and Knuckles sighs, knowing this conversation would have to wait for a better time.

"Yup!" the fox chirps. "All set and done, and just in time it seems."

Knuckles nods at the fox in greeting, before turning to start walking towards the base. "Let's get this done and over with," he mutters, making both Sonic and Tails frown.

No one wanted to be here.

They enter through a large hole in one of the outside walls, a hole courtesy of Dark Sonic. The inside of the base was dark, and the trio walked with Tails in the lead, lighting up their path with a flashlight.

Metal was littered all over the floor, along with wires and old robot pieces. They were pretty sure they destroyed anything with an Eggman logo on it that moved, to avenge the hell Sonic had to go through while he was locked up there.

Knuckles walked behind Sonic, watching him carefully with every step they took. Sonic could tell and ignored him, the feeling of those dark purple eyes on him the entire time forced to the back of his head.

They turn down a certain hall, the main one, and Sonic nearly stopped, making Knuckles frown behind him.

_White rings were around both his wrists and ankles, and a final one around his throat. He kicked and yelled out at the robots dragging him, before they came to a stop outside the room at the end of the hall. He looks back and feels a chill go through him, Dr. Eggman looming over with a sinister, evil smile on his face, those black and red eyes filled with so much hate the hero could feel it._

"_Ah, what to do with you?"_

"Sonic?"

The hero jumps, looking between Tails and Knuckles, who were both watching him with worry.

"What?" he forces out, mouth suddenly dry, and they could both tell he was going through flashbacks, something Sonic had always had a bad time with. The hedgehog would get lost with one thought, and then doze off for minutes at a time, unknowing of the world around him.

"Are you okay?" Tails asks, seeing for himself that this place really was a bother to the Blue Blur. Sonic frowned, pushing passed both of them, crossing his arms.

"Of course I'm okay," he huffs, blue ears bent back.

Yellow and red friends exchange worried looks, but they both knew nothing they said was going to get across to Sonic.

They follow him down the hall, and he stops, glaring at the door at the end of it, before turning to look down the connecting hall.

Knuckles walked around, giving him a suspicious look, before stepping in the _one _room Sonic had wanted to avoid. Tails follows the echidna, looking back at Sonic with a worried frown. The hero eyed the room, before muttering something under his breath and following them.

The room was a mess, but it was mostly still intact. Sonic wished he had destroyed it.

It was Eggman's main lab, where he did most of his work and planning, and where Sonic was held the entirety of the month he was here. There was a large, white desk on one side of the room, surrounded by computer monitors and a control console spread over it. The chair was knocked down and laying on its side, and Sonic only passed it a glance before feeling sick.

"_You insubordinate rat!" the doctor had yelled, the hover chair falling over as he stood up, feet crunching over broken robot and kicking it across the floor. Sonic couldn't even smirk in the one victory he had since being here, as he was suddenly grabbed by the quills, dragged back-_

He shakes his head and watches Tails walk over to the computer, leaning against a nearby countertop. He tried to not look at anything other than his friends, but then Knuckles walked passed a large metal table across from the computers, bringing his eyes on it for only just a second.

_He was slammed down on the metal surface, head banging and sparking a migraine as the robots lifted him on it. He kicked and cursed the whole time, and then he heard the word 'restrain' and he lost it, screaming and cussing at the top of his lungs, threatening the robots and Eggman unlike nothing before. Those white rings he was forced to wear snapped like magnets against the table, nearly ripping his legs out of place as they yanked them down. Eggman walked around the table and stood at the head of it, so Sonic had to look back to glare at him. The hero froze when his eyes fell on the syringe in the doctor's hands._

"_Let's do some, minor _modifications_, shall we?"_

Sonic shook his head again and grit his teeth. He really shouldn't be in this room, or in this base all together. Just the thought of this place made him want to vomit.

"Can you get in?" Knuckles asks, catching his attention. Tails frowns, connecting his Miles Electric to the computers.

"Slowly but surely, I think. There still seems to be some power running through the computer at least, maybe from a backup source somewhere…?"

"It's powered by a Chaos Drive," Sonic speaks up, walking over. Tails blinks, taken aback, watching as Sonic pulls a part of the desk apart and points. Like he said, there was a large, blue Chaos Drive connected to a series of wires, all leading into the computer.

"Oh, wow!" Tails exclaims, crouching down to further examine. "That's the biggest one I've ever seen!"

"How'd he get one so big?" Knuckles asks, frowning at it. It was heavily encased in some sort of thick glass container, so he couldn't even feel its energy.

"...me," Sonic mumbles, glaring at it. "It's made up of my energy."

Both friends look at him and notice the bitter look in his emerald green eyes, again sharing concerned expressions.

"He used you as a power source?" Knuckles asks quietly, to which Sonic looks away and nods.

"That was the plan. Why need the Chaos Emeralds when you have someone that's an unlimited energy source, is what he said," the Hero of Mobius mutters, ears flicking back. "He stole a lot of my energy to power this place."

Knuckles's brows furrow, the guardian crossing his arms. "That explains why it took you so long to lose your Dark form. You were powered up by everything you destroyed."

Tails looks back at the drive and frowns at it. "What should we do with this?"

"I'd take it and stash it somewhere," Knuckles spoke up. "That thing probably has enough energy in it to be considered a Chaos Emerald. I'd save it for if Sonic ever runs dangerously low and needs an emergency boost."

Sonic nods and Tails hums, standing up. "Good idea. Probably shouldn't mess with it before I access the computer, anyway."

"Be quick, so we can get that thing somewhere stable," the echidna frowns. "Last thing we need is it breaking right now."

Sonic chuckles dryly, throwing the piece of desk he was still holding aside, letting it clang loudly on the floor.

They all knew that if that drive broke while Sonic was anywhere near, the energy boost would be enough to put him in his Dark form, and they didn't need that right now.

It doesn't take long for Tails to get into the computer, bypassing the security for it relatively easy. The fox frowns at this, one large ear folding to the side. "Why would this computer be so easy to get into and that other one so much more difficult? Wasn't this his main computer? ...and the password is the same…"

Knuckles and Sonic both raise brows at each other before giving the mumbling kit questioning looks.

"What was the password?" Knuckles asks out of curiosity, and Tails's ears fold farther back.

"The numbers translate to 'Maurice.'"

The cold chill that went through him was so strong he expected to turn into ice. He felt his face pale and ears ring loudly.

Why would…?

Why _that…_?

The room suddenly felt too small for comfort. He turns around without a word and leaves, taking off in a blur of blue until he was outside.

That nauseous feeling he had before doubled tenfold, and the moment he's at the first tree his knees are buckling and he's throwing up, dark energy rising from his blue fur.

Back inside, the two mobians stood there in complete and utter confusion. Tails looks over at Knuckles, who was stiff where he stood, eyes on the doorway that Sonic had run through.

"Knuckles?"

The echidna scowls. "Something about that name triggered something for him," he says. "Keep it in mind. I'm going to go see if he's okay; his energy certainly isn't."

* * *

He could feel the hero's energy from all the way where he was, and it didn't feel right.

Something was bothering Sonic immensely at the moment. It had started lightly that morning, but throughout the day he would get strange feelings in their energy, feelings that said something was really wrong with his mate.

It was distracting, to say the least. Rouge must have caught him zoning out because of it numerous times already, as the trio talked with Towers on what they had found, and headed off to the next location the G.U.N. Commander had for them.

They were running through a forest, headed to an abandoned base. Rouge checked her communicator, seeing them getting closer to their destination.

"Should only be a little further."

A sudden wave of Chaos Energy went through him then, and he cursed loudly, the energy in his skates buffering, causing his feet to hit the ground and his body to fall, sending him hurtling through the thicket. Rouge and Omega watched as Shadow curled instinctively into a ball, slashing through trees and shrubs as he tried to get himself to land as safely as possible.

When they catch up to him, he's sitting in a crouch on the ground in a clearing of trees, eyes narrowed and staring down, brows knitted together in concentration.

"You alright, sunshine?" Rouge asks, knowing she better ask _before _she laughs, because that had been the most amusing thing she had seen in her life.

He can hear the smothered amusement in her voice and chooses to ignore it, not wanting to take any more damage to his ego than he had already as he pushes himself up. Sonic's energy was flaring up and down like crazy, but it wasn't the normal feeling he got when Sonic went into heat, which meant something else.

No, this energy was negative, bitter, with a silver lining of fear in it.

Sonic was in the first stage of going Dark.

Why? What was bothering him? It had to be something bad, considering his energy already felt like _this_.

Rouge frowns now, watching Shadow turn and look off in the distance, as if he could just see what was troubling him. "Shadow?"

Another wave of energy. Even Omega let out a beep of surprise as Shadow visibly cringed, squeezing his eyes shut and clenching his fists.

Rouge takes a step forward, reaching for him. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Sonic," Shadow hisses out, before shuddering again. The other two members of Team Dark watch the biohog turn, only stopping to look back at them over his shoulder. "I'll meet you at the rendezvous point if I can stop him from going Dark. If not, the mission will have to wait."

He doesn't leave room for argument before he's gone in a flash of black and gold, leaving them behind to stare at where he had been standing.

"Sonic's...going Dark?" Rouge asks quietly, looking over at Omega.

The robot didn't have any answers for her.

* * *

_He's suddenly connected to wires and robots are holding him down on a metal table, and panic is overflowing because he's being restrained…_

"Sonic!"

_Eggman is laughing at him, mocking him and making fun of him. He steps around to the side of the table and grabs something that reflects in the light; sharp._

"Sonic, snap out of it!"

_Pain flares in his side as the metal touches him and he screams, turning his head away. A mask is put over his face to help him breath but it doesn't calm him any; only makes his panic worsen._

"I knew we shouldn't have brought him here!"

"I have the data I need from the computer. We can always come back another time without him."

"It was stupid of her to have him here to begin with."

_The noise in his ears are his own screams, and now it's of pain over panic. The robots are following instructions barked at them, and more pain follows. He can't see anything but a blinding white light and soon hears his ears ringing over his own yells. He couldn't move, couldn't fight, and Eggman's laughter is above all the chaos._

"Sonic, come on," Knuckles tries, gently shaking the midnight blue hedgehog trembling on the ground. After throwing up, Sonic had collapsed on his side, curling up into a ball, spikes up and sharp in defense. His eyes were squeezed shut and he was mumbling and screaming back and forth, holding his head as Dark Chaos Energy flared up around him.

The two friends give each other worried looks, and Tails lifts up his communicator to call Sally. Before he can even find her number, a flash of blue makes them jump and stare in surprise as Shadow appears out of nowhere.

"Shadow?" Knuckles exclaims, giving him a suspicious look. The black and red hedgehog recognizes the base, and his ruby eyes narrow sharply.

"We detected an unusual energy source in the area," he lies through gritted teeth, "but I didn't expect that to be Sonic. What the hell is he doing here of all places?"

Knuckles glares at the hedgehog, but crosses his arms and looks back down at the still shivering Sonic. "Sally asked us to come here to investigate any sign of Eggman being present. We hacked into his computer, and Sonic seemed fine and first, but something made him snap."

Shadow scoffs and kneels down next to the hero, noticing the vomit with a wrinkled nose. He turns Sonic and lifts him up, and as if on pure instinct, Sonic wrapped his arms around him and whined.

This caught them all by surprise, how clingy Sonic was to Shadow when he wouldn't even respond to Knuckles. Shadow frowns and focuses on the other's Chaos Energy, and tries to calm it with his own.

It actually seems to work, and Sonic's fur loses the dark blue aura and his quills fall back down. Sonic seems to faint into his arms, still holding tightly onto him.

"How did you do that?" Tails asks, very curious. Shadow's frown deepens, noticing Knuckles's suspicion was rising by the look on his face.

"Canceled out his energy with my own, since they're opposites," he simply says, figuring the kid would take it. Tails seems to light up, thinking it through.

"That makes sense. Positive energy always cancels out negative…" he mumbles to himself.

Shadow turns Sonic in his arms, which was hard by how the hero was holding onto him, and picks him up bridal style. He glares at the two friends again, for some reason feeling heavy spite towards them for bringing Sonic back to this place. What was wrong with them? Sonic was tortured here, in probably the most gruesome of ways. What in their right minds made them think taking him back here was okay?

He couldn't explain the protectiveness he suddenly had over the hero. He didn't want to give him back to them. He couldn't trust them with him. Sonic could have been hurt, or hurt someone else…

He feels reluctant to let his mate go as Knuckles takes him from his arms, the tension between the two as strong as an electrical current. They were both glaring at each other darkly, amethyst against ruby, and Tails noticed it, quickly speaking up before the two could start fighting for some unknown reason.

"We should get going back to Mobotropolis and let Sally know what happened," the kid says, carefully reaching for Knuckles's shoulder. "I want to go through this data, too."

"You're right," the echidna mutters, his glare lingering on Shadow for a second before he turns around, heading back to wherever the Tornado was.

Tails lets out a sigh, and meets Shadow's questioning eyes. "Thank you for helping us. It's a good thing you were nearby."

"I suppose it was," he mutters. "Now don't be stupid and take him back to anymore places like _this_." Places like this, meaning don't take people back to the places they were tortured in.

He turns and leaves without letting the kid say another word, muttering Chaos Control under his breath and disappearing in a blue flash.

* * *

That night, he passes by Rouge, the bat giving him a knowing smirk, and into his bedroom. He sits on the bed, glaring at the door.

All day his mind was stuck on Sonic, almost Dark because those _idiots _thought-

He catches himself, rubbing his eyes and shaking his head.

He was worried.

It was hard to admit to himself, but he was worrying about Sonic.

He didn't want to think of Sonic taking orders like that. He didn't want to think of Sonic running into trouble like that, or being hurt, or something worse…

What if they didn't have this bond between them? Then he never would have known Sonic was in trouble and never would have went to save him before something bad happened. Sonic's Dark form was unpredictable. Anything could happen to him.

For the first time since it happened, he was grateful for the bond.

He leans back and lays on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.

He cared about Sonic.

It wasn't anything new. It was something he realized he always felt but just never accepted it or even thought of it. He felt...so bad after what he did to him, despite what that strange voice keeps telling him.

His brows knit together in a furrow. He really needed to figure that voice out. Every time it spoke he listened, whether his morals were okay with it or not.

"_I told Omega."_

"_What?!"_

"_I WAS GOING TO FIND OUT ANYWAY."_

_Shadow glares at the both of them, crossing his arms. "What do you mean you would have found out anyway?"_

_Omega turns towards him. "I AM ABLE TO DETECT AND ANALYZE ANY CHAOS DATA. I KNOW THAT EVERY BEING THAT CAN USE CHAOS ENERGY HAS A SPECIFIC SIGNATURE THAT DEFINES WHO THEY ARE, COMPARABLE TO DNA. I KNOW YOUR SIGNATURE AND I KNOW THAT RECENTLY YOU HAVE DEVELOPED A SECOND ENERGY SIGNATURE, WHICH SHOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE BY ALL LOGICAL MEANS, UNLESS YOU HAVE ESTABLISHED A CHAOS BOND WITH ANOTHER CHAOS USER."_

_Shadow's frown deepens as he takes the robot's words with consideration. Omega continues, now with Rouge's attention as well._

"_WHEN SONIC ARRIVED I MATCHED THE SECOND ENERGY SIGNATURE WITH HIS, AND RECEIVED POSITIVE RESULTS, MEANING THERE IS INDEED A CHAOS BOND BETWEEN YOU AND HE. HOWEVER, THERE IS A THIRD AND VERY WELL HIDDEN ENERGY SIGNATURE IN BOTH OF YOU THAT SHOULD NOT BE THERE, THAT IS CORRUPTING BOTH OF YOUR ENERGY SIGNATURES."_

_Shadow blinks, and Rouge speaks up. "You don't know what it is?"_

_Omega makes a beeping sound. "SINCE THE CORRUPTED ENERGY SOURCE SEEMS TO NOT BE FROM SONIC, IT IS ASSUMED THAT IT IS COMING FROM SHADOW AND IS BEING SHARED DIRECTLY BETWEEN BOTH OF THEM. FROM MY DATA, I WOULD ASSUME IT IS BECAUSE OF THE SYNTHETIC CHAOS ENERGY THAT MAKES UP HALF OF WHAT SHADOW'S ENERGY IS."_

_Shadow scowled, looking away. Rouge only stared, slightly wide-eyed. "I forgot about that," she says softly, looking over at him. "You were made with both real and fake Chaos Energy because Gerald didn't have a real Chaos Emerald."_

"_FROM THE DATA I HAVE GATHERED ON SHADOW," Omega says, "THE SYNTHETIC OR FAKE CHAOS ENERGY IN HIS BODY IS THE REASON HE MUST WEAR THE INHIBITORS. THE SYNTHETIC CHAOS ENERGY HAS THE ABILITIES TO REVERSE THE POLARITY OF THE REAL CHAOS ENERGY IN HIS BODY, TURNING IT FROM POSITIVE TO NEGATIVE, AND SHADOW CANNOT PHYSICALLY USE NEGATIVE CHAOS ENERGY."_

_Rouge frowns. "So what happens to the negative energy? If he can't use it where does it go?"_

_Shadow looks over, all the of this slowly coming back to him if he remembered correctly. Omega confirms his thoughts._

"_BY LAW, ENERGY CANNOT BE DESTROYED, SO IT IS INSTEAD RELEASED INTO EVERYTHING AROUND HIM, CONVERTING TO WHATEVER ENERGY IT CAN. THE MORE POSITIVE ENERGY HE USES, THE MORE IS CONVERTED INTO NEGATIVE, ERGO, THE MORE IS RELEASED, ERGO, THE MORE HE LOSES. IF HE WERE TO PERFORM A CHAOS BLAST WITH HIS INHIBITORS OFF, ALL THE ENERGY HE USES FOR IT WILL CONVERT INTO NEGATIVE ENERGY, AND INSTEAD OF KEEPING IT LIKE HE SHOULD, HE LOSES IT. THE INHIBITORS PREVENT HIM FROM USING TOO MUCH ENERGY SO HE DOESN'T LOSE IT ALL."_

"_I get it," the bat hums. "So the more he uses, the more he loses…"_

"_NORMAL CHAOS USERS ONLY LOSE A SMALL PERCENT OF THEIR ENERGY WHEN THEY USE IT, AND THEY REGENERATE IT AT A VERY HIGH RATE. BECAUSE OF THE SYNTHETIC ENERGY, SHADOW REGENERATES AT ONLY EIGHT PERCENT OF THE RATE HE IS SUPPOSE TO, AND LOSES SEVENTY-EIGHT PERCENT MORE ENERGY THAN THE AVERAGE CHAOS USER."_

"_Oh my god," Rouge breathes, looking over at Shadow, who seemed almost disturbed. "That's why you fell from the ARK," she puts together._

"_...and Sonic was fine," Shadow finishes quietly. Forever he had questioned how Sonic could last as long as he did during that battle and why he himself suffered so greatly for it. Because he wasn't a normal Chaos Born. The answer was so simple it was almost disgusting._

"_What…" Rouge starts to Omega, worry evident on her face. "What's going to happen if it keeps corrupting their energy?"_

"_I DO NOT KNOW, HOWEVER THE SIGNATURE SEEMS TO BE MORE UNSTABLE WHEN SONIC ISN'T NEARBY. WHEN HE WAS NEAR, IT STABILIZED. MOST LIKELY BECAUSE SONIC IS A DARK CHAOS USER, AND CAN USE THE NEGATIVE ENERGY SHADOW RELEASES. FURTHER INVESTIGATION IS NEEDED, BUT IF CORRECT, THE SYNTHETIC ENERGY COULD BECOME A VERY VALUABLE TOOL FOR BOTH OF THEM."_

"_Ah!" Rouge exclaims, catching on. "So the energy would convert Shadow's into negative, which Sonic could use, and then if Sonic gives Shadow negative energy, then it can turn into positive, which Shadow can use! It's a never ending cycle of energy."_

_Shadow perks up, blinking in astonishment._

"_CORRECT. THEY WOULD ONLY LOSE VERY SMALL AMOUNTS OF ENERGY AND JUST KEEP RECYCLING THE SAME ENERGY BETWEEN THEM. THEY WOULD NEVER RUN OUT AND COLLAPSE FROM LACK OF ENERGY. IT WOULD BE A WAY FOR THEM TO FIGHT IN BATTLE WITHOUT WORRY OF ENERGY EXHAUSTION."_

"_See?!" Rouge chirps happily, skipping over to Shadow and throwing her arm over his shoulder. "This is probably why you and Sonic were bonded to begin with! If you two can work things out, think about how unstoppable you guys would be! You could probably even get Sonic to calm his Dark form down so he could use it properly."_

_Shadow thought back to how compliant Dark Sonic was with him, actually listening to him. That was the first time Dark Sonic actually stopped for anyone. Before he would just go on a rampage until he collapsed. He did also notice how he didn't seem to be losing much energy around Dark Sonic before they used the Chaos Control that binded them._

_Gerald had to have planned this, this seemed too perfect, he thinks with a frown. That didn't explain why Sonic was immortal or anything, but if Gerald knew about the Chaos Bonds, knew that Shadow would bond with a Dark Chaos Born one day, he had to know about this._

_They were right; if he and Sonic worked things out, then they could take down any threat that came their way. They'd be unbeatable._

_...that was if he and Sonic could work things out._

He highly doubted they would.

At least at the time he did. He needed to straighten up and apologize, try to make things right.

"_**No you don't. Stop telling yourself that."**_

It was that energy again. It had to be.

'_Shut up,' _he tells it. _'I make my own decisions. No one tells me what to do.'_

"_**He hates you. Get over yourself. It's never going to work out between you."**_

He sits up, glaring at the far wall like it was the one speaking to him. It was like the energy was not only converting his energy into negative energy, but his thoughts into negative ones as well.

Chaos _was _powered by emotion, so he supposed that's what was linking it together.

He only closed his eyes and took in a deep breath.

'_I'll prove you wrong.'_


	10. Nine - I Just Want to Say

**Chapter Nine - I Just Want To Say**

Sally gave the group guilty looks. "I knew I shouldn't have sent you guys there," she was saying directly to Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles of the group. "I'm sorry."

Sonic shrugs it off and looks away, crossing his arms over his chest. His feet were propped up on the oval table the Freedom Fighters were sitting at, while Tails sat next to him with his Miles Electric in hand. Knuckles sat on the other side of Sonic, giving Sally a small glare.

"We did find information," Tails speaks up quietly, holding up his device. "With it I was able to find five Eggman bases around Mobius that we've never seen or been to before."

Sally nods, looking back at Nicole, who showed the map Tails was speaking of up on a projector screen. "That's right. With this information we can now start investigating each of these bases, scouting them out."

Nicole speaks up, gesturing to Bunnie. "Bunnie's team was able to find one of the Chaos Emeralds, giving us now two." The rabbot girl smiles and winks between herself, Antoine and Rotor. Nicole continues, smiling gently towards Team Sonic. "Sonic, you will be keeping the emerald. We're putting you and Tails in charge of searching for the other emeralds. Knuckles, whatever you wish to do is on you."

The echidna shrugs, leaning back in his chair. "As long as we don't know where Eggman is, he's even more dangerous. I'll stick around and help look for the emeralds."

Sonic feels something akin to irritation from his friend's words. As long as Knuckles was around, the chances of him finding out about he and Shadow only rose. As much as he appreciated the Master Emerald Guardian actually sticking around to help out the team, he wished it had been any other time than now. He hoped Knuckles would stick to being solo and work on his own.

"We appreciate that," Sally smiles to the ruby male, before continuing on. "While Sonic's team is searching for the emeralds, I'm going to assign each of you to a base to scout out. Do _not _go into the bases or attempt anything more than a scouting of the area. We can't afford anyone else to get kidnapped."

She says that, but it's mostly for Sonic. They're all still shaken up from the whole event, as it had been the darkest thing the doctor had ever done. Sonic himself looks away, brows furrowed, feeling bitter.

As the meeting went on, Sonic dozed off to think of yesterday. He hadn't meant to black out like that and nearly go Dark. He was even more surprised when he awoke this morning and Tails told him Shadow had been in the area and used his own energy to stop the transformation.

He felt agitated and crabby, and wanted nothing more to do with anyone. He was fed up of being around people and at this point, felt as if he was picking up on Shadow's attitude.

He didn't want to start acting like him, but he couldn't help it. He was tired and wanted to be left alone. These past few months had been the worst of his life in a long time.

He suddenly feels a warming sensation in his gut, and his Chaos Energy starts to flare up slightly. He nearly curses out loud and shifts in his seat, pulling his legs off the table and crossing them tightly.

_Not now, dammit, _he thinks, feeling his headache only grow. Couldn't his heat wait until _after _the meeting? He could feel Knuckles's eyes on him and he ignores him, clenching his teeth together until his jaw hurt. He could feel it coming on fast, and if this meeting didn't end right this second he was going to lose his mind.

Sally seemed to just be finished telling everyone what their own tasks were, before Nicole held a hand up to her ear and excused herself quickly. Sally continues on with the meeting, only slightly confused.

Sonic wanted to die. He put his face in his left hand and leaned on the table, hoping his blush wasn't obvious. His other hand was in his lap, and his foot was tapping impatiently.

Nicole appears a minute later with a perturbed look on her face, walking up next to Sonic while Sally was still talking, leaning over to whisper in his ear; "Shadow's here, said he wants to see you for some reason. The meeting should be over in just a minute, but he's outside the door."

Sonic blinks in only slight surprise at her. "You know what he wants?" he asks quietly, having to pretend like he didn't know. Oh, he knew very well, but he didn't think Shadow could sense his heat that quickly, or arrive even faster.

Nicole shakes her head, frowning. "He didn't say, just that he needs to see you."

"Hmm," Sonic looks away. "Okay then."

Nicole walks back over to help Sally conclude the meeting, and Sonic happens to glance back at Knuckles, who was giving him a demanding and questioning look. Sonic shrugs and makes an 'I have no idea' expression, hoping the guardian takes it.

Would Knuckles find out? Did he suspect? He doesn't know, and doesn't stick around to find out before he hears Sally say everyone is dismissed, and gets up faster than anyone could blink and heads out the door in a flash of blue. He nearly collides with the black and red hedgehog, who almost seemed startled from his sudden outburst.

"Let's go, _now_," Sonic hisses and Shadow nods, grabbing his arm and whispering 'Chaos Control' under his breath, the two disappearing with a flash of green.

* * *

"_Oh, gods," _Sonic whined out, back arching and fingers clawing the sheets. Shadow huffs as he rocks his hips forward again, burying his face into the crook of Sonic's neck, breathing in the strong scent his heat was emitting and wanting to drown in it. They both came at the same time, panting in each other's mouths and shaking uncontrollably.

Sonic's heats were happening stronger and faster than they were before, and if it continued at this rate, then they were going to have problems keeping this a secret.

Pulling out to lay beside the blue hero, Shadow runs a hand over his eyes and pinches the skin between them. Sonic subconsciously scoots closer to him and grabs his other arm, closing his eyes and giving out a shaky sigh.

They're both quiet for a few minutes, before Shadow has to ask; "Why did you go back to that base?"

Sonic lets out another sigh, this one less shaky than the one before. Closing his eyes, he shrugs. "We had to get information on Eggman from it. We weren't going to be there long, anyway."

"Long enough," Shadow huffs, making Sonic look up at him with narrowed eyes. "You knew it would be bad."

"No, I didn't," Sonic argues, now openly glaring back at him. "I thought it would be fine."

"Well then you're stupid," the Ultimate Lifeform states matter-of-factly. "If you seriously thought you could go back without suffering any sort of post traumatic-"

"Shut _up_," Sonic interrupts, ears pinning back. "For Gaia's sake just drop it. If you think you wouldn't have done the same thing I did then _you're _the one that's stupid."

Shadow opens his mouth to say some sort of argument back, but then stops himself. Sonic was right, and he couldn't deny that. He'd go into every single lab room of the ARK just to get the answers he needed if he had to of, even if it killed him.

There's an awkward, tense silence that follows. Shadow eventually breaks it by sighing himself. "Just don't do anything st-like that again. You keep reverting into your Dark form and the Doctor is going to find a way to fight it."

The chuckle Sonic lets out is very...ominous. It kind of sounded like the voice his Dark form has. "Yeah, right," he mutters. "Eggman knows better than anyone he can't do shit against Dark. He won't even try because he just knows."

Shadow's eyes widen. Did...Sonic really just say that? He sounded almost...proud of his Dark form. How could he just assume that Eggman wouldn't try anything about it? Unless he knew something no one else did, he couldn't possibly believe Eggman wouldn't try to overpower it.

"Do you really believe that?" he asks, frowning. "He can't take over the world if you're always in your Dark form, but if he finds a way to defeat it-"

"He can't," Sonic glares at him again.

Shadow frowns at him. "Then what are you going to do when you give up your immortality, then? Won't you lose your Chaos Energy?"

"I…" Sonic stops, brows furrowing as he looks down in thought. That...was the plan, right? Give up his immortality by giving up his Chaos Energy, then the bond between he and Shadow would be broken and they wouldn't have to be tied together anymore.

Something about giving up his Chaos Energy started to bother him.

Was the bond with Shadow really that bad? Did he have to give up so much for it?

...and Shadow was right. If Eggman threw everything he had at them, thinking he was going up against Dark Sonic, then without said form, they would be screwed.

Thinking about these things made his stomach hurt. Made his head hurt. He didn't want to think about it, and just keep running until he was forced to make that decision.

"I don't know yet," he mumbled. "I don't really want to think about it now."

"It's something you should be thinking about," Shadow closes his eyes, shrugging.

"What does it matter to you?" Sonic snaps. "You want me to give up my immortality anyway so you don't have to deal with me anymore. You even considered killing me."

Shadow feels a sting in his chest, and opening his eyes, he's met with fierce emerald green ones. Once again Sonic had him at a loss for words. He wasn't wrong, but, it hadn't been him thinking those things. He didn't even want to rape Sonic, his energy forced him to.

It reminded him that he needed to apologize, but Sonic was already sitting up, changing the subject before he could get the words out.

"We need to figure something out about Knuckles, though," the blue hero was saying. "He's been giving me the stink eye, so I wouldn't be surprised if he suspects something."

Sitting up as well, Shadow frowns, running a hand through his quills. "We just need to avoid each other as much as possible, then. Until we find another meeting place, just show up here when you go into heat."

"Then stop showing up before I have a chance to," Sonic stands up, turning to face him. In just a second however, the hero blinks and holds his head, nearly falling over with a quiet groan. He catches himself on the bed, making Shadow practically jump up in confusion and unadmitted worry.

"What's wrong?" he tries to reach for him, but Sonic pushes him away, glaring again.

"Nothing, I'm fine. Just stood up too fast," he mutters, slowly turning and heading for the bathroom. Shadow watches, crossing his arms with a frown.

Something was obviously wrong, but Sonic wouldn't share that with him.

The hatred in Sonic's tone towards him was getting more and more noticable. He wonders if it has something to do with the negative energy cycling through him making it worse than it already was. He knew Sonic was still angry with him, probably forever until the end of time, but now he was having a hard time hiding it.

He didn't think Sonic could hate anything or anyone. Hell, he didn't even hate Eggman, after everything the man has done.

...but he hated Shadow.

Probably despised him.

Loathed him, even.

"_**I told you. It's never going to work out between you two. You should just give up before you even start."**_

He holds his head, growling to himself.

'_Don't even start with me. I can fix this, I just need to figure out how.'_

The voice laughs and he curses it.

He couldn't help but feel it was right.

* * *

The hedgehog throws a hard drive on the mad human's desk, fixing his glasses as he sauntered passed it. "There. I've helped you, now can you take this stupid thing off?" he turns around, pulling on the metal ring around his wrist.

The doctor laughs under his breath with a sinister grin curving his lips. "Aww, you thought I'd just let you go after doing a couple errands for me? My boy, you must be smarter than that. Don't you realize you're my prisoner?"

The moebian snarls at him, stuffing his hands in his jacket pockets, stomping one of his feet against the metallic floor. "This is _bullshit _fat man! I swear to _gods _I'm going to kill you when this is over!"

Eggman just laughs again, turning in his chair with the hard drive in hand, feeding it to his computer through a large slot in the front. "That's what they all say, but alas, I'm still here am I not?"

Scourge's lips pull in an angry scowl, one of his eyelids twitching. He didn't mean to be caught by the scientist like this. Eggman came to his world proposing a shot at Sonic, and so he hesitantly agreed. He didn't expect to become the man's personal servant.

He still had no idea what Eggman wanted particularly with him. Didn't he have robot's that can do this dirty work? Why did the fat man need _him?_

Oh well. He turns and shrugs, kicking a nearby metal trash can with a loud clang. He'd play along until he had a chance to break free. He could probably find his own way of taking off the metal ring on his wrist - the ring that could and would supposedly kill him with electric shock if he were to disobey.

"Oh, well isn't this interesting," he hears Eggman chuckle.

Turning and raising a curious brow, he quietly walks over to peek on what the doctor was talking about.

Both of his brows raised up, eyes widening as he lifted up his glasses, trying to decipher if what he was seeing was real or not.

"It's unfortunate for them that I keep all cameras in my old bases active at all times," Eggman snickers.

The harddrive came from an abandoned base he had sent Scourge to. There was camera footage up on the screen.

...and that was footage of Sonic and Shadow.

_Fucking, _in the old base.

Eggman breaks out into laughter again, turning off the footage and turning in his chair. "I knew those idiots would bond their Chaos Energy when Sonic went Dark," he continues to laugh.

"That...was real?" Scourge exclaims, mind boggled. Eggman grins.

"The reason I brought you here, is because the energy you use, Anarchy Beryl, has this..._unique _ability to manipulate Dark Chaos Energy," the doctor explains, getting Scourge's attention. "Sonic, is made of almost nothing but Dark Chaos Energy."

The Anti's mouth fell open as if in understanding. Eggman continues, pointing back in a gesture towards the camera footage.

"Because Sonic is Dark and Shadow is Light, their Chaos Energy has unwillingly bonded, especially against their will. I need this bond to go as wrong as possible. If Sonic is upsetted enough, he's going to go through a process to get rid of his Chaos Energy to break their bond, making him extremely vulnerable."

A slow grin then curves across Scourge's muzzle, and he puts his glasses back over his eyes. "Oh, so you need someone to jump in on their parade and make Blue as miserable as possible. Why didn't you just say so in the beginning?"

Eggman nods, leaning back in his chair. "If Sonic's energy is taken from him, I'll be able to defeat him easily. The game will be over. You will find soon that your Anarchy Beryl has a natural attraction and ability to bend Sonic's to your will. Do what you want with him, but I need him broken so he gives up."

Scourge dusts himself off and flashes a devious smirk. "Not a problem, baldy! Pissing off Sonic is one of my favorite things to do. It'll be easy."

"Good," Eggman smirks. "Then get to it. The sooner he's decided the sooner I conquer the world."


	11. Ten - A Flash of Green

**Chapter Ten - A Flash of Green**

Shadow raises a brow at the irritated look on Rouge's face, letting the fridge close on its own as he opens his water bottle. "What's wrong?"

She was currently sitting at the white, round table in her large kitchen, her pink laptop in front of her. She looks up at him, giving him a tired smile. "Nothing at all. Everything's just wonderful."

He rolls his eyes at her sarcasm and walks over, pulling out a chair to sit next to her. She points at the screen, eyes narrowed.

"So I'm guessing Eggman found out we hacked into his computers, because he sent a virus that completely erased everything. All I have are my notes I took," she explains, scrolling through said notes. "...and it isn't much."

Shadow frowns as he skims the information, his eyes landing on a set code of numbers.

"What are those coordinates?" he asks, putting his water bottle on the table.

She shrugs, opening up her map. "That's what I was trying to figure out. I opened up a folder labeled 'S' and that's the first thing I saw. When I went to write them down and came back the virus was already in and I lost it." She types the coordinates into the map, and it zoomed in on a location in the Mystic Ruins. She looks over at her comrade, raising a brow. "Wanna go check it out?"

He nods. "A better lead than nothing."

She mock gasps, putting a hand over her mouth. "What was that? Optimism? You can tell how much time you've been spending around Sonic."

He glares at her, stands up, and pours his water over her head.

* * *

"You called?" Sonic frowned, stepping in the lab room. He nearly panics when he sees Knuckles look up at him, wondering what the hell he was doing here, before he looks over at his uncle, Tails, Sally, and Rotor.

Uncle Chuck is the first to say anything, giving his nephew a nervous smile. He hadn't talked to Sonic since the...whole event with Bernie and Jules, so seeing him now was…

"Hey, Sonny. So, we figured out that there really is a way to take away your immortality before it's settled," he explains.

Sonic walks over, crossing his arms and standing as far from Knuckles as he can, finding himself next to Sally. "And...the catch?"

"You shouldn't do it," Knuckles sighs, shaking his head. "You'll lose your Chaos Energy, Sonic. You practically live off of it. You wouldn't be a Chaos Born anymore." When Sonic blinks in surprise, Knuckles adds; "That means no Chaos Emeralds. You wouldn't be able to use them. _You wouldn't be able to go Super Sonic_."

Something about that sent a sting through his chest, and he looks away, ears bent back. He felt sick hearing that, and a chill soon followed down his spine.

To lose Super Sonic…

That...was too risky. Super Sonic was practically the planet's last defense anymore.

...but…

He shrugs, looking down. "Shadow has a super form," he practically mumbles. "He's more than capable of taking my place in that situation."

The room goes quiet, everyone exchanging worried looks.

Knuckles shakes his head again, taking a step closer to him. "Sonic, you were born this way for a reason, why mess with it? I know never aging is probably going to be hard, but do you really think you should go against that?"

Sonic shrugs again. "I still haven't made up my mind. I just...want the options I guess."

"We can still build the machine to do it," Rotor offers quietly. "You don't have that long of a choosing period. By the time we finish it it'll be then or never."

"Why is that?" Sonic asks, an ear quirking back.

"Sonic, your energy is slowly taking over everything about you," Chuck explains. "By this, I mean that your body is slowly converting from Mobian, to simply nothing but Chaos Energy. I'm not sure why this is, but it seems almost like it was meant to happen. We started to notice this a little while ago, when Dr. Quack took blood from you." When Sonic's eyes narrow suspiciously, he chuckles. "You were unconscious, and we were trying to see why the painkillers weren't helping you. When Dr. Quack examined the sample, he discovered that half of your blood at the time was pure Chaos Energy."

"So...what? What happens when it's done?" Sonic asks, scowling slightly. "When I'm completely Chaos Energy?"

"It seems you'll still be yourself, just…" Rotor starts, looking over between Tails and Chuck.

"You'll be an embodiment of Chaos," Chuck explains. "Just a pure source of Chaos Energy. You'll practically be a living Chaos Emerald."

"With the energy of all seven," Knuckles adds. "Sonic, seriously don't go through with this. I don't think this is a good idea."

"I said I haven't decided yet," Sonic glared at him. "I have some time? I'll think about it. I don't know what I want yet."

"This is so stupid," Knuckles mutters, turning away, while Chuck nods.

"Then we'll get to work. Right now you're at a eighty-six percent Chaos Energy rate. Once you get to one hundred we won't be able to do anything about it."

Sonic just nods, turning on his heels to leave. He glances at Knuckles, who frowns deeply at him, before leaving. Sally follows him, the two walking down the hallway out into the living room area of Tails's workshop. Stopping, he turns and raises a brow at her.

"Do you think it's worth it?"

She frowns at his question, not sure what he means. "To give it up?"

He shrugs, looking away. "Either? If I don't, then I'll be able to keep protecting the world without worry of dying. If I do, then I won't have that ability. I'll practically be useless."

"Maybe not useless," she says, walking to stand directly in front of him, grabbing his hand, "but it'll make things riskier. Without your energy to heal you, you'll take damage like a normal person would. No more Super Sonic, or even your Dark form…"

"So, useless?" he asks, unable to help the small grin that curved his lips.

She rolls her eyes. "I'm not a Chaos Born but I still find a use for myself, don't I? You'd be fine."

"The planet wouldn't be," he frowns then. "How can I trust someone else to take care of the issues that require a super form? Especially someone like Shadow…"

He kind of feels bad saying it. Shadow wouldn't let the world come to end, would he?

"Sonic," Sally sighs, looking down. "Honestly...I...I want you to give it up. I don't like the thought of you living forever, always with the responsibility of protecting the entire planet like you do. I've also always wanted you here, with me, and if you're immortal, that won't happen, would it?"

Sonic opens his mouth, before closing it immediately after with a frown.

It wouldn't.

Especially not with his bond with Shadow.

"...but," she starts again, "if you're immortal, I would never have to worry about you dying…"

"So you don't know, either," he suggests with a quiet sigh. She nods.

"That's why I said I'm for whatever you choose, Sonic," she says sincerely. "Either way will bring some good, some bad. I just want you to be happy."

._..to be happy…_

Was he?

…

Looking away again, he runs a hand through his quills. "I'll...just have to think real hard on it then. In the meantime, we should find Eggman."

She nods. "Nicole has all the suspected Chaos Emerald locations, if you wanted to start hunting them down."

The Hero of Mobius nods. "I need something to do."

* * *

Sally had suggested going with him, but he told her he needed space to think. She understood, despite the sadness evident in her tone when she said it was fine.

What was he supposed to do?

He really didn't...hate the thing with Shadow. It wasn't..._that_ bad, was it?

He could never tell. He really would feel safer if he stayed immortal, for the sake of the planet, but Sally…

He loved her so much, still.

...and then to have to watch all his friends die around him, leaving him alone…

He couldn't bare the thought.

He slows down his run to a stop, standing in the middle of a thick woods, frowning down at the ground.

...there would never be enough time for him to make this decision, would there?

Would he be selfish for giving it up? To stay with Sally and his friends, even if the world burns because of it? It reminded him of his fight with Sally sometime ago…

To choose the world over her. Over everyone.

Was it worth it?

When did he get a chance to live his life the way he wanted? Did he have to suffer an eternity, always fighting for everyone but himself?

...then there was little thought about losing Super Sonic. Losing that power, that ability. Super had a place in his heart that he couldn't shake.

Then there was Shadow…

What would Shadow do?

...why couldn't he have just been oblivious to all of this? Why did he have to make this decision?

If only he had more control over his Dark form, none of this would have happened in the first place.

...but then the city would have been destroyed.

He lets out a frustrated growl and jumps, kicking a nearby tree in aggravation. It cracks down the middle, wood splintering everywhere, but the tree still somehow keeps itself standing.

That's what he felt like. No matter how hard he was beaten, he would always have to keep standing.

He never could have a break.

Maybe that's what was truly appealing about giving up his immortality. He wouldn't have to be the hero that throws his life in the line of others to protect them. He would just be...normal.

As normal as he could be, at least.

...but it would be a chance to think about settling down.

...maybe even marry Sally…

He didn't understand why he felt so guilty...

* * *

A flash of aquamarine erupted in the the clearing of forest trees, scaring birds and small animals away. Two hedgehogs fell from the light, landing in crouches on the green grass. They both stand up, looking around with frowns on their faces.

"Is this it?" the silver one asks, turning to the blue hedgehog in uniform, who was pulling up a holographic map from his wrist device.

"It is, but our timing is slightly off," he answers, sighing and turning off the device. He lifts the visor covering his eyes over his blue quills, scowling at his companion.

"H...How much time?" the white hedgehog asks, voice wavering. The blue hedgehog sighs, looking away.

"We're an entire month off," he says exasperatedly, "which means it's already happened."

Silver's mouth fell open. "Are you serious?!"

The other sighs, nodding. "Unfortunately. Apparently this was supposed to happen in the Prime Universe. That means we have to find a way to fix it as it is now."

The white hedgehog's lips pull in disgust as he turns away, kicking a small rock away. "That's just not fair!" he exclaims. "We should have been able to save him!"

"Fair or not, it happened for a reason," the blue hog steps up to him, grabbing him by the shoulder and turning him around. "This is still the Prime Universe, so that means it was going to happen no matter what. Now we just have to make sure we get the Chaos Drive, find Scourge and take care of him, then get to Sonic and Shadow and fix this mess."

Silver takes in a deep breath, closing his eyes and pushing the hedgehog's hand away from him. "I know, I know," he mumbles, looking up. "I just don't want anything else to happen to Sonic. Now that I know what he is…"

"Let's just focus on the now," the other interrupts. "We still have time, so let's not waste any more of it."

"Thanks, Zonic," Silver turns from him, nodding. "You're right. We've got this."

Zonic turns and points to their east. "The base should be over here. Let's get to it."

* * *

The two agents exchange looks as they step into the old, dusty cave. Shadow is the first to walk in, surveying the limited surroundings with a scowl.

Eggman had definitely been there, but all that evidence was destroyed by black stains where flames had destroyed the place. Crouching down, the Ultimate Lifeform feels the soot on the ground with his index and middle finger, brows furrowing as he brings his hand up to study the embers. "This was done recently."

Rouge steps passed him, where large pieces of burnt metal were laying in a melted pile. "You're right," she hums, putting one hand on her hip and another to her chin. "You think he did it to cover up something?"

"I wouldn't doubt it," Shadow stands, dusting his hand off on his leg. "If he knew there was a chance of us coming here, he would have destroyed it immediately."

The albino bat turns, hands falling to her sides. "Well, we might as well look and see if he forgot anything."

Shadow nods, the two splitting to explore the small cave. He doubted they would find anything; the doctor was smart. He probably had the cave self-destruct the moment he realized his computers were hacked into. Stepping around a fallen sheet of metal and over to a pile of broken robot parts, he leans over dig through it, not finding anything useful. He stands up to turn back around, when his ears started ringing, and he suddenly went lightheaded.

The sound of him falling over startled Rouge who was on the other side of the cave, and she came flying over, quickly kneeling by his side and turning him so his head was laying back on her knees. "Shadow?" she asks, slight panic in her tone. "Shadow are you okay?"

He holds a hand to his head, his vision swarming. He could barely make out her figure holding him slightly upright, and her voice sounded faded to him. He could only let out a groan, squeezing his eyes shut and trying to feel what was causing him to feel like this.

It felt like he had taken off his inhibitors and let out a ton of energy in one go. There's a faint, throbbing pain in the front of his skull that's reverberating through his entire head, and he can barely feel the tips of his fingers or toes on his feet.

"Shadow?" Rouge tries again, running a hand through the quills on top of his head. "Talk to me, hon; what happened?"

"M-My energy," he forces out, opening his eyes again. Those scarlet irises of his looked foggy, as if he were in the midst of waking up from a long sleep.

He was starting to slowly feel better, his hearing and sight coming back to him. Rouge just frowns, concern visible in her eyes as she watches him try to pull himself back together.

It doesn't take much longer for him to recover. He slowly sits up, holding his head with a perplexed frown.

"Did it just, drain out?" Rouge asks, trying to figure him out, still. Shadow looks at her, nodding.

"It's fine now. I don't know what that was. It wasn't Sonic," he states, for sure on that one. That was just his energy draining randomly out of nowhere.

His female friend only purses her lips in thought, before she floats up and offers him a hand to his feet. "Let's look around for a bit more and see if anything in here caused that, then."

He takes her hand and lets her pull him up, blinking a few times to get a grip back on reality. He felt fine now, which was almost even more confusing than him collapsing just a second ago.

A couple hours later and they don't find a single thing in that cave.

* * *

Sonic stops, glaring at the device on his wrist that Sally had given him.

The supposed Chaos Emerald was just gone.

He couldn't even feel its energy anymore. It was like it just upped and vanished into thin air, which meant someone snagged it really fast, or Shadow was nearby and found it.

He couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that he was being watched, however.

He needed to get out of these woods, he decides, and so he takes off in a flash of blue, speeding through the trees in the direction of a large field nearby.

He doesn't even have time to glimpse it before a sonic boom goes off somewhere on his right, and he's being hit by a flash of green.


	12. Eleven - And Everything Goes Wrong

**Chapter Eleven - And Everything Goes Wrong**

The two exchange frowns as they step into the abandoned base, Zonic turning a light on his headset to illuminate their path. They could tell someone else had been here recently, based on the three different sets of footprints on the heavily dusted floor. They knew who it was, based on their timing, and both couldn't help but feel guilty at being so late to get there.

"The Chaos Drive should be in this room at the end of the hall," the Zone Commander explained as they headed to it cautiously. Silver gives him a curious tilt of his head, hands behind his back.

"So, does Sonic know? About the...you know..."

The blue counterpart sighs. "No, not yet. If we can get this timeline to go down the right path, then he'll most likely find out sooner than later. I can't imagine the Master Emerald Spirit or even the Light Chaos hiding it from him for much longer."

Silver blinks, eyes widening slightly. "Was he supposed to know?"

Zonic stops, frowning as he looks down at the ground. "Sonic lost his memory at a very young age, due to a tragic accident involving the six Chaos Emeralds. He has no recollection of any of his childhood, or what he is and how things came to be as they are. His family hasn't told him any of that yet."

"Do they even really know, though?" Silver questions, brows furrowing. "They know he's the royal heir to the Mobian throne, but do they know any more than that?"

"Sir Charles knew both King Circe and Queen Aleena," Zonic crosses his arms, "so it wouldn't surprise me if Jules did, too, unless this was something Charles had sworn into secrecy. I'm sure Charles knows everything, but he's been keeping it to himself because he knows it isn't his place to say anything."

Silver frowns deeply, looking down. "I still don't understand, that if both Sonic and Shadow are immortal, where are they in my time? I know the future of my world depends on them now, but…"

Zonic studies the young teen with almost sympathy. "You...do realize that, when you fix this prime timeline completely, one of two things are going to happen?"

Silver looks up at him in confusion. "What's that?"

Zonic looks almost uncomfortable saying this, which seems uncharacteristic for the stoic hedgehog. "Either your timeline will vanish completely, since it is part of the prime universe, or it will become its own timeline." He pauses as he watches Silver's face drop completely, feeling sorry for the kid. "Although, even if it vanishes, you'll still exist."

"Wait, why?" the white hog exclaims, blinking in surprise.

The zone cop let his hands fall down to his sides. "Zhadow scanned you while you were at the HQ. Apparently you're not from that timeline at all."

Silver felt himself freeze. "Not...but...what?"

Zonic can only shrug. "We don't even know. I have him investigating what time you're actually from."

Silver only stares blankly at him. He wasn't from his world? His time? So that means...someone brought him there too young to remember...but why? Did they know this was his destiny? To fix the prime universe?

"We need to get moving," Zonic says quietly. "Look, you've helped us a lot, and I appreciate everything you're doing for Sonic. We owe you more than we can express, so whatever answers you need answered, we're willing to help anyway we can."

Silver looks up at him, smiling almost sadly. "T...Thank you. Although…" he starts again, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly as he follows the zone cop. "I wouldn't have even known had that _other _Sonic not tell me."

Zonic's brows furrow. "Did he explain why? Calling you into his dimension is one thing, but telling you all this…" he trails off, looking over at his companion suspiciously.

Silver only shrugs, just as clueless. "I have no idea, but he seemed really upset. I guess they caught the Shadow of his dimension, and they're talking about execution."

"Guilt, then," Zonic looks away. "He's older, wiser than he was before. He most likely realizes what he did wrong and why it needs to be fixed. He probably couldn't bare the thought of the prime universe following the same route his did." He goes quiet a moment before adding; "I can't seem him killing Shadow, however. Take his immortality away, maybe, but he's too good for that."

Silver just looks at the door they approach, watching Zonic slowly push it open. "I'm going back to see him after this is over, to let him know we succeeded."

Zonic nods, looking back at him over his shoulder. "That's a good idea. It'll give him peace of mind. He'll be able to move on."

They drop their conversation as they both step into the room, eyes falling on the computer console in the center of the room. They both go over to it, Zonic kneeling down to examine the large, dark Chaos Drive still connected to it.

"Good to know Miles-Prime is just as forgetful as my version of him," he deadpans with half-lidded, exasperated eyes. There was slight amusement in his voice, however, and he reaches in to unplug the wires from the drive's glass container.

Silver purses his lips, rocking on his feet as he decides to ask the question that's been on his mind since meeting Zonic. "Umm, if you don't mind me asking...are you and Zhadow...uhh…?"

Zonic flinches, hitting his head on the top of the desk with a loud thump. He turns and glares back at the now fidgeting hedgehog, who immediately regretted asking.

"We're not supposed to be together, no," he huffs, turning back to getting the drive. His cheeks were lit up with pink, however, and his statement couldn't have been any more daft.

Silver raises a brow, carefully stepping to the side to get a better view of what Zonic was doing. "...but, are you?"

The Commander's mouth pulls into a thin line as he unlocks the glass casing. He reaches for a large metal canister on his belt meant specifically for the Chaos Drive, putting in the passcode to unlock it. It takes him a minute to answer, but he eventually sighs and mutters a curse under his breath before he does.

"We are. I'm pretty sure the only universe where a Sonic and Shadow are that don't have romantic ties to each other, no matter how big or small, is the Anti-Mobius."

"Scourge's world?" Silver asks, as Zonic puts the dark drive into the canister. The cop nods, standing up as the container sealed with a beep.

"Yes. The Anti-Shadow and Anti-Sonic hate each other with a passion, however the Anti-Shadow isn't too far different than his prime counterpart," Zonic explains as he hands Silver the canister.

Taking it, Silver tilts his head. "Why's that?"

Zonic shrugs. "Shadow is someone we call a Neutral. His characteristics and personality make his anti almost nearly identical. Same as Knuckles. The only difference between them and their counterparts is their morals, and even they aren't too far different."

Silver hums, saving that information for future reference.

As they step out of the room, Zonic holds up his wrist to check his device. "We have the canister. By these timestamps, Scourge should be on the move. We have to get to the Emerald Forest to-"

A sudden explosion right in front of them cut him off, hitting both hedgehogs and sending them flying back into the room. They cough as they scramble to their feet, holding their hands up to block the smoke from getting into their face.

...and then Metal Sonic is charging straight into Zonic.

"Zonic!" Silver turns, about to help him when a laugh all too familiar echoes in the empty building, making him turn and glare at the man behind it.

"OH, ho ho ho!" Eggman has a snide, devious grin on his face as he steps into the room, holding a strange remote with his hands. He watches Zonic struggle to keep his arms locked with Metal, glasses gleaming in the dim light. "I'm afraid I can't let you progress any further, gentlemen. Can't have you ruining this for me."

"Silver! Get to Sonic!" Zonic calls out, before activating the jets on his boots and grabbing Metal Sonic, spinning and hurling him at a far wall.

Silver nods, an aquamarine glow engulfing him as he prepares to take off, but before he can Eggman is pressing a button on his remote, and a portal opens up beneath him.

"What the-!" the white hedgehog doesn't even get to react before he's falling-

"Silver!" Zonic flies over, but doesn't make it before the portal is closed.

Whipping around, he glares angrily at the now laughing scientist, fists clenched tightly. "Where did you send him?!"

Eggman's teeth practically glow as he smiles. "Oh, you know, somewhere far enough away to prevent him from becoming a bother." He steps around the zone cop, not facing him as he examines the old lab room. "You see, I can't have you two ruin this perfectly good opportunity to finally win this wretched war. I get to break Sonic, and take over the world. _This _is what I've been working so hard for."

"You do realize what that'll do, right?" Zonic growls. "It'll be the end of the prime universe. Everything will fall apart, including you! There's no point in all of this-"

"Blah, blah, blah, blah…" Eggman cuts off, turning around with a bored expression. "You think I care about that? I know I'm doomed in the end anyway, but that's not the point. It's all about the _game_, my dear boy. If I'm going down," he grins almost demonically, "I'm taking the universe _with _me."

Something slams into Zonic at that moment, knocking his head into something hard, and he blacks out immediately.

* * *

Sonic flips in mid-air, rightening himself with a scowl. Only one person had that green streak and speed like that, and it was the last person he ever wanted to see at this particular moment. He lands in a crouch, fists clenching as he watches Scourge stop in front of him, smirking as cocky as ever.

"Sup, Blue?" the green hog asks, putting his hands in his jacket pockets. He could barely make out those icy blue eyes studying him from behind red shades, seemingly tracing his body up and down. He felt suddenly extremely nervous all of a sudden, his Chaos Energy flaring up almost immediately. It was as if it just knew this guy was trouble, but there was also a feeling of 'get the hell away from this guy as fast as possible' screaming at him.

"How did you get out of No Zone?" Sonic asks, voice monotone. He didn't want to stand around or near this guy any longer than he had to. He was getting bad vibes, _really _bad vibes.

Scourge shrugs, taking a few steps forward. They were quite a ways apart, but it didn't feel like it was enough for Sonic.

"Oh, you know," the green hog replies almost casually. "Fiona got herself arrested, helped me bust out, then we took off to settle some scores with that Finitevus dude," he explains, eyes still tracing Sonic's from. "Afterwards we went back home, then I was offered a good deal to come back and kick your ass."

Sonic scowls, putting a hand on his hip. "A good deal from who?"

The green anti raises a brow. "Not as talkative as you usually are, babe. Somethin' wrong?"

Those bad vibes grew immensely. Sonic had the same, strange but unpleasant feeling he got, back when he walked in Club Rouge one time and had an irritating exchange with a drunken wolf. The guy had backed him up into a corner, trying to flirt and force himself over him. Sonic, truly innocent then, had never been in such a situation and became overly flustered, not knowing how to handle the scenario. Shadow had been the one to drag the guy out and teach him a lesson, much to his relief, despite how ironic that turned out to be.

The same feeling he had then that he was in danger, he once again had now, and the way Scourge was slowly making his way over, attempting to appear as nonchalant as possible, only made it stronger.

"You didn't answer my question," he replied, eyes narrowing. "Who made you what deal?"

As Scourge takes his hands out of his pockets, he notices a strange metal device around his right wrist. It had a red light on it that looked suspiciously ominous, as if it were some kind of restraining device. He doesn't get to examine it better, since the jacket sleeve covered it as soon as Scourge put his hand on his hip, copying the blue hero's stance.

"The Egg-douche wants me to capture you for him," Scourge explained, a small smirk on his muzzle. "Hold you for a bit before he comes and grabs you for himself."

Sonic can't help but scoff. "For what? Since when did you let Eggman boss you around?"

Scourge shrugs, kicking his feet around in the dirt. "He's got something good for me in return. I mean, I get to keep you for a while; that's something, ain't it?" He grins as he takes another few steps forward, almost a foot away from Sonic now. When he spoke next his voice was lowered to a tone that was nothing but predatory. "He said I get to do _whatever I want with you _till then. Not a bad deal at all, if you think about it."

_Run, run, run, run, _was all that went through Sonic's head at that moment. Something was seriously wrong here. His energy was flipping upside down, as if it was somehow reacting to Scourge. That shouldn't be possible, but…

...wait…

_Anarchy Beryl._

He could feel it. It...felt as if it was trying to attach to his dark energy, as if it was trying to latch on to it somehow…

What was he doing? What was his game, here?

Sonic glares at him, turning and crossing his arms defensively. "You do realize he's got you wrapped around his finger, right? Eggman doesn't make deals with anyone. He's using you, and you should know that."

Scourge grins. "He's not coming for you for a while, babe. I get my end of the deal before he even does. Hell, I might not even hand you over."

Sonic felt his heart jump into his throat.

He needed to leave.

He needed to leave _now._

Why was Scourge even being like this? He knew exactly where this was going, and he didn't like it at all.

"I doubt that's it," the hero huffs, turning and taking a step back. "I don't have time to be dealing with this. I have enough bull to deal with right now."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Scourge grins, speaking in a mocking tone. "Did I catch you at a _bad time?"_ he asks, putting a hand on his chest.

Sonic felt every nerve in his body freeze on end. Why was he…? Did he…? "What are you talking about?" he asks, his irritation heavily noticeable in his tone. Scourge's grin only grows.

"You don't have to act all secretive, Blue," he teases, hopping forward suddenly and throwing an arm around Sonic's shoulders. The cobalt hedgehog jumps and tenses up, glaring darkly at his green counterpart as he gets in his face, voice even quieter now as if he were trying to be overly dramatic. "I know all about you and Stripes," he pokes Sonic in the chest, watching the hedgehog's eyes widen, his muzzle paling. He could practically see the cold sweat on the side of the hero's head. "I got to see for myself when I got those cameras for the old doc. Ten-eighty-p, HD view of Stripes banging you against a wall."

Oh no.

Oh, _fuck no_.

Sonic felt his soul leave his body. This was beyond bad. This was an absolute _nightmare_. Eggman and Scourge were probably the _last _two people in the universe he wanted to know about the bond with Shadow.

He needed to leave.

He needed to leave right that second.

He pushes Scourge away from him and takes a couple steps back.

"That-that's not any of your business!" he exclaims, face turning a deep shade of red. Scourge only grins at him.

"Maybe you should be more careful where you spread your legs, babe. There was like, five different cameras in that room. I got five different angles of that!" he laughs.

Sonic felt petrified. "Sh-Shut up! I don't have time for this…" he growls the last part, turning on his heels and taking off in a flash of blue.

He doesn't make it far.

A sudden flash of heat shocked through him, making him cry out and skid to a stop, dropping to his hands and knees. His vision was swarming, and he could feel his heat suddenly leap into effect, as if whatever had happened to him just activated it without mercy. A shudder convulses through him, making him cringe and cross his arms over his chest.

"Sorry, Blue, but I gotta take ya," Scourge walks up from behind, as casual as before. He stops next to the now growling hedgehog, kneeling down to grab his chin and force him to meet his eyes. Sonic's face was red, and he was now visibly sweating and shaking, with his quills raised defensively and ears pinned back angrily. He looked like a hot mess.

He never considered Sonic to be that attractive to him, or at least, attractive enough to want to fuck the daylights out of him. Then again, they looked practically the same, and he of course thought himself to be the most attractive thing ever. Sonic was no different, maybe even better than him, and seeing him like this; hot and flustered, the smell of his heat and feel of his energy radiating towards him, he realized he'd be more than happy to throw him down and pound him crazy.

He was surprised how easy it was to latch onto Sonic's energy and twist it around. It was like playing with clay or putty. If it was going to be this easy, he was going to have one hell of a time with him.

"You alright?" he asks with a grin, watching Sonic scowl in return.

"What did you do?" the hero asks, practically seething. His voice was low and menacing, and damn was it hot.

Scourge smiles sickenly sweet, reaching into his left pocket to pull out two pairs of handcuffs. He grabs Sonic's arms and cuffs them behind his back as he answers. "Anarchy Beryl can manipulate Dark Chaos Energy," he explains as he cuffs Sonic's ankles as well. "That's why you can't move or do jack shit against me right now."

All Sonic could do was shiver and tremble violently, feeling his heat come on a lot faster than it should have ever. He was fucked, he knew it, and he could only hope Shadow would come look for him soon.

...wait…

He felt his heart stop as Scourge lifted him up and threw him over his shoulder, the realization nailing him head on…

"_We need to figure something out about Knuckles, though," the blue hero was saying. "He's been giving me the stink eye, so I wouldn't be surprised if he suspects something."_

_Sitting up as well, Shadow frowns, running a hand through his quills. "We just need to avoid each other as much as possible, then. Until we find another meeting place, just show up here when you go into heat."_

"_Then stop showing up before I have a chance to."_

He had told Shadow to not come find him.

Would he still come look for him, anyway?

* * *

Shadow frowns at the clock on his nightstand.

Sonic should have been here by now.

He could tell the hero was definitely in heat, but he still hadn't shown up. Was he in the middle of a mission? Was he just being stubborn? He wasn't supposed to go look for him, but he was starting to feel like he should, Knuckles be damned.

He sits up and reaches for the top drawer of his nightstand, pulling it open to pick up the picture of him and Sonic he kept in there.

It wasn't there.

He blinks, standing up, searching through the entire drawer and even emptying its contents onto his bed. Where was it?

He searches the entire bed, under it, then every drawer of every piece of furniture in his room.

It was gone.

That...was his favorite picture. It was the very day he got the camera. Back when Sonic actually liked him. Actually wanted to be around him.

...and now it was missing.

Maybe Rouge knew?

* * *

Zonic glared from behind the glass pod he was stuck in, watching Eggman work on some kind of large machine, meant to hold all seven emeralds, including the Master. "What is your plan?" he asks, irritated and impatient.

Eggman doesn't even look back at him as he answers. "I'm sure you know, Zone Commander. Get Sonic to give up his immortality by causing as much pain in his life as possible."

Zonic's ears pin back, his brows furrowing. "How did you know Silver and I would be here?"

The doctor polishes off some of the metal he had screwed on the machine. "I figured the moment I involved Scourge you would show up eventually, so I set up a system that could detect the equipment you Zone Cops use all around. Once I saw Silver here as well, I knew exactly what you were doing. Meaningly," he turns and smirks at the cop. "Silver was here to prevent me from succeeding, which means I did in another timeline. I won't fail again."

"Once I'm out of here, you will," Zonic growls. "Scourge would have been involved for another reason entirely. You blackmailing him is going to bite you in the ass."

Eggman shrugs. "He's not a problem. Besides, I'm letting him keep Sonic when all of this is over. I won't need him, anyway."

"You're sick," Zonic hisses. "You know what he's going to do to him."

"And I should care, why?" the doctor questions. "It's none of my business."

"You're messing with things you know you shouldn't," Zonic exclaims. "What do you think is going to happen once Sonic's body is separated from his energy? That body was made specifically to contain that energy. Where do you think it's going to go once it no longer has the shell that it's supposed to stay in?!"

Eggman sighs, dusting himself off. "I'm just going to sink it back inside the Master Emerald. That spirit can deal with it."

"Are you serious?!" Zonic yells. "The Master Emerald was only made for-!"

He's cut off with a beep as Eggman turns the speaker off for the glass pod. He didn't care about any of that. He absolutely couldn't stand those Zone Cops. Always acting like they knew everything, always acting like they're just entitled to get involved whenever they want.

No, this plan was too perfect to change anything now. He's worked way too hard on this. He wasn't going to let anyone tell him otherwise.

Even if the world was destroyed, it would at least mean he finally won.

* * *

Scourge watches with pure interest.

Sonic's heat had sped up its usual process thanks to his Anarchy Beryl. After throwing Sonic on a bed in the abandoned Knothole Base, he just sat and watched on a nearby chair with curiosity. He wanted to know what would happen if Sonic's heat got too bad.

Sonic couldn't move much. He could barely sit up on the bed, hands and feet still cuffed, but he was shaking and writhing and cursing under his breath, rolling back and forth and kicking his legs periodically. He was sweating profusely, face, ears, and chest crimson, body fidgeting uncontrollably. He would let out these soft whines and whimpers, squeezing his eyes shut and fingers clenching into tight fists, before he would call out with a loud curse and kick and struggle a bit before going completely still.

It was like he was so horny he was going insane, as if someone had drugged him with aphrodisiacs and left him to struggle on his own.

...and it was getting worse as the hours ticked by.

The green hedgehog had always been super patient, compared to his prime counterpart. Waiting and watching was more than fine with him. He could sit back and enjoy the show. It was amusing, to say the _least_.

According to those notes he found after sneaking into Mobotropolis and Sonic's home, it would take about eight hours before Sonic's mate realized something was seriously wrong and would start looking for him. Thanks to the amount of Anarchy Beryl in this place, he wouldn't be able to detect or feel Sonic's energy, and so it would take him forever to find him.

Eventually after long enough, the Light Chaos Born would lose his mind, and it would eventually start to hurt him as it was Sonic, if not worse than.

Shadow was going to be beyond angry, but it was _so _going to be worth it, he thought.

"Having fun?" he decides to ask nicely, which in turn earns him a huff.

"_Fuck you," _Sonic practically spits at him, another harsh shudder coursing through him. Scourge only grinned.

"Maybe not like that, but I could fuck you if you wanted me to."

"_SHUT UP!"_


	13. Twelve - The Plan

**Chapter Twelve - The Plan**

Her brows are furrowed and her blue eyes are focused solely on the screen.

It's been three days since Sonic went missing.

Shadow was going insane. His energy was eating him alive and he could feel that Sonic was in pain as well. Rouge had already gotten calls from Tails and Knuckles, asking her if she's seen him, as no one else has in the Freedom Fighter HQ.

She was using all her sources, trying to keep it from G.U.N. that the planet's number one defense was missing, as well as the fact that they would need to find Sonic before anyone else did, considering Shadow had things to take care of first. She could only imagine what Sonic was going through, as well as continuously question who would take him.

Eggman? That seemed to be the obvious guess, but if that was the case, then who knows when they would find Sonic. They didn't even know where the doctor was himself.

"Anything?"

She sighs at the almost panicked-sounded voice of Shadow behind her, walking up to her chair and leaning one hand on it. She rubs her left eye, not even caring about smearing her makeup, shaking her head.

"Nothing yet. I'm trying to track his energy signature, but it's all over the place," she explains, pointing at the screen. "The Mystic Ruins has an insane amount of Chaos Energy in it, and it's making it near impossible to pinpoint where Sonic was when he disappeared."

Shadow's eyes narrow as he studies the screen. "I'm going back there to look again. He must have been attacked there."

To think Sonic was only so far away when he disappeared bothered the Ultimate Lifeform. Why didn't he feel Sonic's energy there? He should have been able to pick up on it.

Then again…

There was that thing when his energy suddenly drained itself. Did something do that on purpose? Was it a trap?

There were too many questions rattling his brain and not enough answers. It didn't help that the burning sensation flaring through his bodily horrendously at every second messed with his ability to think straight.

"Be careful?" Rouge interrupts his thoughts. "Whatever attacked Sonic could still be out there. I'll keep searching, but keep your communicator on at all times, okay?" He meets her eyes and nods. She nods back. "The moment your com goes off, I'm coming out there. Let me know the moment you find anything."

"I will," Shadow answers curtly, turning abruptly on his heels to the exit.

* * *

Nothing.

He could feel Sonic in heat, but couldn't figure out where he was. Usually he just lets his energy take him, but every time he goes to let it, a head-splitting pain shocks through him, and his energy practically whines in protest.

Someone had to have Sonic behind some kind of barrier, blocking his energy from anything outside of it.

Most likely Eggman.

It wasn't like it would be the first time Sonic's been kidnapped. The thought of Eggman having Sonic again, after last time, sends a nervous chill through his body. He shakes his head, running a hand through his red-striped quills.

He wasn't getting anywhere like this. He needed to figure out where Sonic was exactly when he went missing. Maybe he could track the energy trail to wherever Sonic was being held.

* * *

Twisting in the air to get himself back into focus, the white hedgehog holds his hands out in front of him, feeling for the telekinetic ability he was so widely known for to kick in. An aqua hue covers his body, and he stops falling, holding himself up in the air to survey his sudden surroundings.

Where...was he?

The air was warm, and the sky was a dark hue of orange and greys. In front of him, and a couple hundred feet below, was an old looking town with numerous small buildings in clusters. Mobians could be seen walking around, stopping at shops along a main road that led straight for a castle at the end of the town.

The castle was large, towering, and could easily take up a quarter of the city itself. It was made of grey rock, with a large wall in front of it to protect it from unwanted visitors.

Surrounding the city on the southern side was a lush, thick forest. Behind the castle on the north side, was a large field that overlooked a vast source of water, stretching for miles and miles. All around the city was a wall that towered over the trees; towers built off of it and guards roaming around on it.

He carefully lowers himself a bit further towards the ground, looking out for any key details to tell him where exactly he is.

Things don't look good at all, and everything certainly felt off.

There was a very, very high amount of Chaos Energy here. It felt like it was coming off of every single mobian here, as if everyone here was a Chaos Born.

...but weren't all the Chaos Born wiped out, over hundreds and hundreds of years ago?

None of this made sense. Silver's hazel eyes narrow as he eyes the castle, wondering what he should do. He needed to get back to Mobius Prime, but...how?

Then again, if this place was filled with Chaos Born, maybe someone here could help him?

He lands on a roof of some random house and frowns deeply to himself. It wasn't like he could just trust anyone here. He needed to be careful. Again eyeing the castle, he wonders if he could get in to speak to someone in charge of this...time? Dimension? He really needed answers.

Deciding that was the best course of action, he jumps up, flying straight there.

* * *

Four more days had passed.

No Sonic.

Rouge was pretty sure Shadow had scoured every inch of the Mystic Ruins, and did it three more times again. Still, nothing. Shadow didn't look right at all, unable to stay together and always looking like he was some kind of deranged, crazy mobian off the side of the road. His quills were ruffled and he had bags under his eyes, and he was always wincing in pain, or hurled over holding his abdomen in agony. At first she felt he kind of deserved it, but then she worried about Sonic, and realized that even Shadow didn't deserve to suffer like this.

Sometimes Chaos Energy would explode off of him, and he would collapse, cry out, growl, and throw a fit. She could tell he was losing his mind and there was nothing they could do about it.

At the moment the two of them were in her kitchen, going over the notes she had taken. They consisted of all the places Shadow felt the highest spikes of Chaos Energy in the Mystic Ruins, and where he claimed to have felt traces of Sonic's energy.

"The Chaos Emerald he supposedly went after was supposed to be in this area," she says, pointing to the area circled. "Then the first energy spike is here," she points to a place just a little south of there. "The second is here," a little to the west, "and the final one is here," a little to the north. She frowns, tapping her nails on the wooden table. "...but we've been all through there."

Shadow only rubs a hand down his face, ears flicking in agitation. "We missed something," he decides without too much thought. "Another spike, something…"

The white bat moves her teal eyes from the map to her slowly crumbling friend, studying him carefully. Chaos, he looked terrible. "We can try to look again, darling, but I have a feeling whatever made him disappear is nowhere near there anymore."

He growls and stands up, his chair scraping loudly across the tiled floor. "I know that, but what else are we supposed to do?!"

"Calm it," she threatens, eyes narrowing slightly in warning. "You seriously need to keep yourself together. You're no help to Sonic like this."

He growls and looks away, eyes closing and brows furrowing. A scowl settled on his face, and she watched as another shudder of Chaos Energy bolted through him, making him cringe.

"I don't think it's the doctor," he says through gritted teeth. "Someone is doing things to him, and I can feel it."

Her eyes widen at that prospect. "You mean someone is…?" she can't even get it out. To think of Sonic out there, helpless, while someone has their way with him…

He opens his eyes, which were foggy from stress and pain. "I know it."

They both go silent for a moment, Rouge looking back down at the map. "We…" she starts slowly. "We should try something else..."

Then, an idea suddenly hits her.

She looks up at Shadow with wide eyes. "Wait… You said you can't track Sonic's energy, right?"

He slowly turns his head to look at her, raising a brow. "Yes, and?"

"Well, you said there's another energy that feels like it's blocking you from doing so, right?" she goes on, stepping around the table to stand in front of him.

It takes him a second, before his mouth falls open in realization. He quickly gathers up his composure, sounding more put together than he has within the past week. "We track that energy," he finishes her thoughts out loud.

She nods. "Right." She turns and goes to her computer, beginning to type something up on it. "You might not be able to track it yourself, but if we can get our hands on a highly advanced Chaos Energy detector and rewire it to track the energy signature that you're feeling," she looks up at him with a smirk. "It'll take us right to the bastard, and right to Sonic."

"Where do we get the detector?" he asks, and she can swear she hears _hope _in his voice.

"I know G.U.N. has them," she says, looking back at her computer. "Or at least, parts of one. We're going to have to break in to where they're kept, which isn't going to be easy."

"Where?" he steps around to peer at the computer next to her, and she shows him a map of the G.U.N. Headquarters.

"They would either be here, or here," she points at two separate locations, one on the east end of the map, and one on the north side. "One of these is the room where they stash all the weapons, equipment, and war goodies you could imagine up. The room to the north is the Chaos Research Facility. The detectors would be in one of these places."

"How do we get it," the ebony hog then asks, leaning forward on the table. Rouge zooms in to the equipment room.

"Only Towers and the workers have access to these areas. They're highly monitored and will go off at any suspicion of an intruder. My hope is that this room will have one, so we can avoid the CRF completely," she explains. "The equipment room has two possible means of entrance - the door inside and the door leading outside, where they export the vehicles. The front entrance won't open without an eye and hand scan, and is monitored by two guards at all times. The back has five guards and needs both scans and a card, but they open the back door every Thursday to export the equipment to other facilities." She looks back at him. "That's honestly our best bet. The CRF only has one entrance, and saying it's highly guarded is an understatement. I don't even know what it looks like in there."

"...we'd have to wait almost a whole week to get in there, though," Shadow frowns deeply. "There's no other way?"

Rouge purses her lips, looking back at the map. "The only time they open the back door is when another G.U.N. base is being attacked and they need supplies immediately, but unless that happens…"

Shadow meets her eyes as she turns to look back at them. They both go silent, the same thought running through both of their minds.

"...it'd have to be a smaller base," he says quietly.

"...and we would have to risk innocent people getting injured," she adds.

"We also can't afford to be caught," Shadow crosses his arms, brows furrowing in thought. Rouge looks away.

"We'd also have to be fast enough, and hit them hard…"

They're both quiet again, thinking of what they could do, when the sound of metal footsteps catches their attention. They both turn with slightly surprised expressions to see Omega standing there, looking quite large in Rouge's kitchen.

"I CAN BE OF ASSISTANCE," he offers.

Both Rouge and Shadow exchange looks.

* * *

"Tails?"

The fox kid turns to the echidna walking up to him across the garage, smiling tiredly at him. "Hey, Knuckles."

The Guardian of the Master Emerald stops and raises a brow as he studies the kid. He looked exhausted, as if he hadn't slept in days. "No word on Sonic?"

Tails sighs and shakes his head, putting the tools he was using on the Tornado down on a nearby table. "No… Rotor and Chuck are trying to find a way to pick up Sonic's Chaos Energy in the Mystic Ruins, but…"

"It's impossible with all the energy there already," Knuckles sighs. "As if it seemed there wasn't enough going on with Sonic already."

"You think Eggman really took him again?" the fox asks nervously, his sky blue eyes wavering. "Not again?"

"I don't know, buddy," the ruby male sighs again. "I certainly hope not. I would think Sonic would go Dark again before that happened."

"You don't think Eggman could find a way to take down Dark Sonic, do you?" the fox questions, and Knuckles could tell this was a worry that everyone was having lately as well.

"Eggman can't even take Super Sonic down, Tails," he tries to reassure. "I doubt he stands a chance against Dark Sonic."

"...but what if Sonic really does give up his Chaos Energy?" Tails finally asks the question the echidna knew was coming. "What would we do, then?"

"I...don't know…" Knuckles crosses his arms, looking away. "I want to convince him that he shouldn't, that it's too risky, but he seems so unsure. He's either afraid of Dark Sonic, or he has something bothering him that's making him reconsider having Chaos Energy to begin with."

"Maybe he doesn't want to be immortal?" Tails suggests. "I don't think I would...it just sounds scary."

"Possibly," the echidna admits. "He just hasn't been right these past couple months."

Tails turns, eyeing his computer. "Yeah, I noticed that. Seems like it started right after Eggman attacked Mobotropolis and he went Dark."

Knuckles nods, looking up at the white ceiling. "I'm going to go back to the Mystic Ruins and keep searching. Anyone have any leads that I can look into?"

"Mmm...not that I know of," the kid hums, ears flicking in thought. "Besides the location of where the emerald was supposed to be that he went after. He…" he pauses, brows furrowing, looking over at the echidna. "Umm...did you tell Rouge about what happened?"

Knuckles looks back at him, raising an eye ridge. "No, why?"

The fox shakes his head. "Because she asked me where the emerald was that Sonic went after, and how long ago it was. I thought we were keeping this from G.U.N.?"

Knuckles only stares blankly at him.

* * *

She always prided herself on being a good actress.

"Omega's malfunctioning?" she asks, fiending surprise. "He's destroying the base and can't stop? I'll be there right away. No...I haven't seen Shadow…" she hums, winking over at the black and red hedgehog himself, who was pulling a hood over his head to conceal his identity. "I'll keep trying to reach him."

After hanging up her earpiece, she turns to her partner, sharing a determined nod with him. "Let me know as soon as you have it and are out of there," she says, sounding like a worried mother. "Be careful and don't get caught."

"Did you forget who I am?" he huffs at her, only sounding slightly offended. She just smiles back.

"Of course not, but Omega's putting himself on the line here. We're lucky he likes Sonic so much."

Shadow only nods, turning away. He was wearing a jacket with a large hood over his spikes, and a bag that went over his shoulder. The jacket had a cloaking mechanism in it that would completely conceal him as long as the hood stayed up.

He feels for the button in his right sleeve, willing himself to not forget to press it before he got to the base. "Omega will be fine," is all he says, before leaving her by going out the front door to Club Rouge.

The bat sighs, but smiles nonetheless.


	14. Thirteen - Old Habits

**Chapter Thirteen - Old Habits**

There's a sadistic feeling brewing in his chest, sneaking into G.U.N. to steal something important, while his robot friend is destroying a G.U.N. base to cover as a distraction. He finds amusement in exploiting all of the military's weaknesses, and pissing them off himself was just pure games to him.

He was always one to do what he had to, no matter the costs of others around him, but now here he was, doing what he had to for _Sonic_.

It wasn't even the pain driving him to do it, like it had been the _last _time he did something horrible (beyond horrible). It was just...for Sonic. To rescue him from whoever had the nerve to take him.

_He cared about him._

He doesn't think he's ever stopped caring about him, but he just never realized he did from the beginning. He tells himself that this time, he's going to apologize. He has to.

He's had days to go over this. Process everything that's happened.

This was his chance to make things right.

He feels a new kind of strength in him that he hasn't felt in a long time, and as he approaches the entrance to the G.U.N. HQ, he can't help but smirk.

The back entrance was indeed open, soldiers running in and out yelling commands at each other, robots and vehicles flying out. Omega going beserk was a crisis, considering he was the most powerful robot on the planet. G.U.N. wasn't going to take chances here. Making sure that his coat was cloaking him like it should, Shadow runs for the entrance, zipping in faster than a soldier could blink.

His energy was screaming at him, and he fights the pain in his stomach to focus on finding the Chaos Detector. Rouge's map was burned into his brain, and he dashed into the room connected to this large one, dodging the robots coming out of the floor to be sent off.

Stepping in, he takes a look around. No one could see him, which was a good thing, and everyone in here seemed to be busy at the control consoles, in charge of releasing the robots. He sneaks past some people running around with papers in their hands, heading to another room behind this one.

Here.

This was the room with the extra equipment, left behind to add on last second to robots and vehicles that needed it before departure. He skips through the room, light on his feet, searching quickly and thoroughly for the Chaos Detector. He's getting frustrated after a minute, knowing he didn't have much time, and almost curses out loud when he finally finds the device. It's a rectangular black screen with wires coming out of the back of it in every which way. It was meant to be used in certain Chaos Emerald-hunting robots, but he was sure they could attach it to Omega. He stuffs it in the bag on his back, looking around to make sure there wasn't anything else they needed. After confirming he was done, he nods, turns, and dashes out of there just as they were starting to close the doors.

* * *

He wanted to die.

That wasn't something he felt often. Only when things were at their worst did he ever wish he could just implode on himself to escape it all.

Now was certainly that time.

He was on fire. Every nerve was pulsing and flaming, all coursing through his body unrelentlessly. Scourge didn't even have to tie him down; he literally couldn't even move on his own.

Being horny wasn't something he's truly experienced either, until the bond with Shadow started. Now that's all he was; writhing on the bed back and forth, whining and cursing and panting and just wanting it to all end. He hadn't slept in the days he was there, unable to thanks to the overwhelming pressure in between his legs and under his tail.

So dying was definitely better than this, he had decided.

The bed lowers on one side as Scourge sits on the edge of it, reaching out a hand to stroke the side of the hero's muzzle. Sonic weakly glared up at him, his body shuddering violently in response to the anti's touch and making him grunt out a needing whimper.

"I can make it stop," Scourge offers, almost softly. "Jokes aside I wouldn't take you unless you gave me permission. My job was to give you off to Egghead in exchange for something that'll help me out."

Sonic huffs, turning his head away, mouth pulled into a thin scowl. Scourge turns to lay on his side right next to the frustrated hero, letting his hand trace down that fawn muzzle, over a soft chest without any scars on it. Sonic was shaking, and every touch brought a weak sound out from his lips, his body flinching and jerking unwillingly.

"I'm serious, Blue. Kinda hurts to see you so messed up. My energy can make the effects stop, but only if you want me to," the green anti presses, the hand on Sonic falling around his right side, feeling it up and down carefully.

This was obviously a trap, Sonic concluded to himself. Scourge was just sweet talking him to get in his figurative pants, and he knew it without a doubt.

...the pain though…

Anywhere Scourge touched, the pain subsided. Maybe that was his energy? It felt ridiculously good, and when the green hog pulled away completely, the pain came back ten fold. An upset whimper turned into an agitated growl, and Sonic's hands balled up into tight fists of sheets with it.

_'Don't do it. Don't you dare give in,'_ he tried to convince himself. He felt like he was fighting a complete, inner war and was quickly losing.

_'It doesn't have to mean anything. It's just to ease the pain. I don't even have to think about it being Scourge…'_

He was losing his mind.

Did he even have a choice, here? What about Shadow? Was he in pain too? Did he feel it?

...and why wasn't he coming to rescue him? Did he just not want to, or was he searching frantically, unable to even sense his energy?

A sudden touch to his thigh makes him involuntarily cry out. Sparks of pleasure erased the pain with the touch, and he found himself bucking into it despite his inner self screaming in protest.

"Let me know in a bit, okay?" Scourge then pulls away, and pain flares up in Sonic again as he leaves him by himself. The green anti stands up, putting his hands in his jacket pockets. "I'll come back in a little bit for an answer."

...and then Sonic is alone, and he just lets himself scream out at the top of his lungs.

* * *

"Got it!" Rouge exclaims, landing delicately on the ground next to the 'rebooting' Omega. She winks at him, turning to the Captain that came running up to her.

"Is it fixed?" the man asks, cautiously peering at the supposedly 'off' robot. Rouge gives him a stink eye.

"Yes, he's fine now. Not sure what caused him to go off like that. Have you guys installed any new equipment here, yet?" she asks, making it sound as if it were G.U.N.'s fault in the first place. The Captain's eyes widen, and he quickly straightens his stance.

"I mean, we did install new scanning equipment yesterday, but I don't know if that would have messed with-"

"It probably did," the bat puts her hands on her hips. "You should get that equipment looked at immediately. He was created by Eggman, you know, and he's very unique. You have to make sure anything you do is okay with his programming first."

The Captain winces. "Of course, Miss Rouge."

As he leaves her with Omega, she turns to the robot and frowns. "I hope Shadow did what he needed to," she says quietly. Omega's eyes light up after his fake reboot and he turns to her.

"WE NEED TO MEET AT RENDEZVOUS."

She smiles sweetly. "Lead the way, big guy."

* * *

Shadow throws his hoodie on the ground next to Rouge, watching as she installed the Chaos Detector into Omega. "Hurry," he says, sounding rushed, but actually full of energy. She almost snaps at him to pipe down, but can't bring herself to. He was acting almost like his old self. His _real _self, the Shadow that was not only her friend, but Sonic's as well.

"You really can't wait to get him, huh?" she asks, looking back to her work. She can see him in the reflection of the screen in front of her, and his eyes widen for a split second, before he looks away, almost flustered.

"It's my fault he was captured in the first place," he practically mumbles.

Rouge smiles softly, making sure every wire is connected correctly. "You've gotten better, sunshine. He's going to be happy to see you."

She shuts the small door in Omega's back and stands up, dusting herself off. Omega stands, turning everything back on.

"CHAOS DETECTOR HAS BEEN SUCCESSFULLY INSTALLED."

"Good," Rouge smiles proudly. "I'm getting better at this tech stuff."

Omega makes a few beeping sounds, before saying, "REWRITING ORIGINAL PROGRAMMING. TRACKING UNKNOWN ENERGY SIGNATURE."

Shadow and Rouge blink in surprise, before sharing relieved smirks. They did it. Turning to his robot friend, Shadow holds up his fists, ready to go.

"Take us to the bastard that has Sonic."

* * *

There's a whistling tune echoing throughout the underground Knothole Base, left abandoned to all but two mobians. Scourge stops at a computer screen, turning it on and plopping in a chair behind him, watching as Eggman's face appears before him. He takes a bite of his chili dog and smiles.

"Wassup, Doc'?"

Dr. Eggman looks annoyed. "You still have him?"

Scourge finishes the rest of his food, sitting up to rest his elbows on the desk. "Of course."

"Good. You will bring him to me tonight at the coordinates I'll be sending you."

Scourge tilts his head, raising a brow. "Already? I thought I was keeping him longer?"

"Change of plans," the human says, waving him away. "I've come up with something better."

Scourge's eyes narrow. "You're still gonna let me go, right?"

Eggman just laughs.

It's a sinister, evil sound, dark and malicious. Scourge feels his temper rise up, as he watches the madman grin and wipe a dramatic tear from his eye.

"My dear boy, did you really think you could trust me to keep my word? You see, I need a vessel to control the Anarchy Beryl needed for my plan to go accordingly, and well...let's just say I've found a living one," the doctor cackles.

Slamming his fist down on the desk, Scourge sneers. _"You son of a bitch!"_

Eggman only laughs. "You're going to bring me Sonic tonight, and then I'm going to toss you into a machine and roboticize you. Then, I'll be able to use you to do what I need to with the Anarchy Beryl."

"You think I'm just gonna let that happen?!" the green hedgehog yells back.

"Oh? Pray tell what you're going to do, then," Eggman grins. "Retaliate, and that little bracelet of yours will go boom. Simple as that. Besides, it's not like you have anyone to help you, nor anyone that would want to. Really, I'm just doing you a favor."

Scourge can only grit his teeth and glare venomously, watching as the doctor laughs again.

"Don't be late," is the last thing Eggman says before the screen shuts off.

Scourge lets out a frustrated yell, kicking the computer away with a flash of green fury.

"I told you."

The moebian turns and looks back at the blue hedgehog standing in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest. Sonic looked a little better, but not by much. He looked as if he wiped himself down, but his fur was still matted, his face was still red, and he looked like he was shaking.

Rubbing his hands down his face, Scourge grumbles nonsense under his breath, before turning with a dry smile plastered on his face. "So...you heard. Guess it really doesn't matter, now, huh?"

Sonic walks over, despite how shaky he is, and grabs Scourge's wrist. The green hedgehog startles slightly, before he realizes Sonic is looking at the metal bracelet Eggman strapped to him. He was studying it carefully, and Scourge couldn't help but give him a confused look.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to think on how to get this off," Sonic stated simply.

"Why? After what I did you wanna help me?" Scourge gives him a pointed look. "You're such an idiot, blue."

Sonic shrugs. "You did it because you'd explode if you didn't, because you were dumb enough to trust him in the first place. Besides, it's not like you hurt me."

They meet eyes, and Scourge's gaze softens somewhat. "I'm not _that_ much of an asshole."

Sonic smiles lightly. "I guess not. Proves you've got good in you no matter how much you try to hide it."

Scourge feels his face heat up, and he pulls away, stuffing his hands in his jacket pockets. "Don't say stupid shit."

Sonic's smile fades, and a more serious frown grows over his muzzle. "What does Eggman want from me?"

Scourge looks back at him with a frown. "I'm not sure anymore. His original plan was for me to capture you and make you mad or something. Something about you getting rid of your energy."

Sonic's eyes widen. "He knows about that?"

The green anti gives him a peculiar face. "So it's true. Why would you want to give up your powers? The moment you do you're gonna be worthless."

The Hero of Mobius looks away, ears bent back.

Shadow still hadn't come for him…

"That's...personal…" Sonic mumbles, looking away. "I'm not even sure what I want anymore."

"You're actually being selfish for once?" Scourge asks, raising a brow. "That explains why I've been so nice lately."

Sonic rolls his eyes. "Yeah, tell yourself whatever you want to."

"Stripes isn't going to kill me, is he?"

Sonic looks back at him, putting his hands on his hips. "He might. He's in pain, too. Why does it matter though? _Both _Eggman and Shadow are going to try and kill you."

"Harsh, blue," Scourge smirks. "You're not going to help me after all?"

"I don't know what I can do," Sonic admits, looking away. "I don't know if trying to take that thing off you is going to cause it to explode."

The green hog sighs, and plops down on the chair behind him again. "This blows."

Sonic gives him another curious look, letting his hands fall to his sides. "You're not going to give me to him?"

"Hell no," Scourge sits up, his feet kicking at the ground. "That motherfucker used me. I'm not going down without a fight."

His prime counterpart smiles. "That's all?"

Scourge looks at him, resting his chin in his hand as he studies the arrogant hedgehog in front of him. He can barely hide his smirk. "You're such a little shit."

Sonic feels better than he has in the past week, probably longer, despite everything that's happened. "You know, you could come with me. We can figure out how to get that thing off you and you could, you know, actually do some good for once."

Scourge looks away from him, hiding his face. "Honestly? I'd fuckin' love to hang out with you, blue, but to be fair, I can't. It's just not who I am."

Sonic breathes in, before letting out a tired sigh. "I feel like you're just trying to be what everyone expects you to be, instead of what you want to be."

"A villain?" Scourge asks, turning back to meet his counterpart's eyes. Sonic walks over and sits on the edge of the desk.

"If it makes you feel any better, I don't think you're a villain," Sonic says truthfully. "I see you for what you are, because we're basically the same person. I don't think you have to be bad, and I don't think I have to be good. We both have our bad days, and we both have our good days. We can be whatever we want."

Scourge looks down, and Sonic can tell he's really thinking on it. He nudges his leg with his shoe, catching his attention. "You don't have to be bad because you've been bad before. Turning around is the strongest thing you can do. You don't have to do it alone, either. I'm...kinda going through the same thing you are. We can do it together, you know."

Scourge can't help but chuckle. "You're too good for this world, blue. It almost makes me sick...but…" he sighs, standing up. "You've gotta point, I guess. It won't matter, though, if I explode or your boyfriend kills me."

Sonic's eyes widen and his face reddens instantly. "He's not...I mean we're not…Just because..."

Scourge steps forward, in between Sonic's legs where he sat on the desk, grabbing his muzzle and forcing him to meet his eyes. "You're not are you?" he asks in a low tone.

Sonic felt like he was going to melt.

"Don't start," he pushes him away, feeling his body heat up. "My energy hasn't been this calm in days."

Scourge grins, shrugging it off. "Guess _my_ energy really is good for something, huh? This means if you ever need a break from Stripes…"

"Stop being gross!" Sonic yells, making the anti laugh.

Then, there's an explosion somewhere in the base.

Both of their eyes widen as they jump up, as another explosion shakes the walls around them.

Then, Sonic felt it.

"Shadow's here!" he exclaims, and...he catches himself. He felt...excited? The feel of Shadow's energy nearby gave him a rush of hot energy, and it almost makes him collapse from shock. Scourge catches him before he falls over, gritting his teeth in frustration. He could feel his Anarchy Beryl shield being ripped apart as Shadow tore through the place. Seriously, was knocking too much to ask?

"You're...hah...coming with us, right?" Sonic pants out, as Scourge helps him kneel on the ground carefully.

The anti frowns, his sky blue eyes looking hesitant. "I...can't right now. I just need to do some things first, and figure it all out."

"That's okay," Sonic smiles weakly at him. "I'll be there when you need me."

A look of surprise fell over Scourge's face, and he quickly looks away, face reddening. "I told you not to say stupid shit…"

The wall nearby them explodes and Shadow steps through, energy blazing around him. Scourge holds out a hand offensively.

"Yo! There's a door _right there!"_

Shadow ignores him and walks over, and Sonic feels his heart flip over in his chest.

"Give him to me," is all Shadow says, his voice low and threatening. Scourge rolls his eyes.

"Calm down, Stripes, you can have him. I was just about to bring him to ya anyway."

"What?" Shadow questions, looking perplexed. Scourge helps Sonic to his feet, the blue hero shaking tremendously now that his Chaos Bond was standing right in front of him. The cobalt hog looks like he wants to say something, but only groans out and almost falls over again. Shadow catches him this time, meeting tense eyes with Scourge, before picking the hero up bridal style.

"Go, quickly," Scourge says, no emotion in his voice. "Eggman knows you've broken in. He's most likely sent an army over here."

Sonic again tries to say something, but can only get a frustrated whine out instead. Shadow still looks confused, but nods and turns, stopping once to study the green hedgehog, before jumping out of there.

Scourge sighs, putting his hands on his hips. "Well, even if I die, at least I got to fuck him."

* * *

He didn't even look at Rouge or Omega as he ran out of the base. Didn't stop until he was back at Club Rouge, in his bedroom, carrying Sonic into the bathroom and setting him on a stool in the shower. Sonic whines and reaches for him as he pulls away, and it's the most pitiful thing Shadow's ever seen in his life, but he needs to get them situated. Sonic looks horrible, and probably felt just as bad, so first things first.

He takes off the hero's gloves, socks, and shoes, and throws them outside the shower. He takes off his own and puts them out there as well, before turning on the shower water and closing the doors.

He could tell Sonic had some kind of wash before he got there, but it was a bad one. His fur felt dirty and looked uncomfortable, and it wasn't as bright a blue as it should be. He makes sure the water is the right temperature before he starts rinsing him with it.

It felt natural, doing this.

He gave Sonic his free hand, letting the hedgehog bury his face into it, letting him draw on his Chaos Energy to help ease him for the time being. All the while he grabbed the soap and started to wash through soaked quills and fur, he wondered what the hell Scourge's deal was. Why let him go? Because he knew he had lost? There's no way that he didn't do anything to Sonic while he was there. He supposed he could ask, once Sonic was okay.

As he started to wash the hero's chest and shoulders, Sonic made another whine and pulled Shadow closer to him. The black hedgehog gives in, letting himself be brought close to the other in what could be called a weak hug. Sonic seemed too delirious for speech, and was trying to get him to just do what needed to be done.

"I'm not going to be able to wash you afterwards," he says quietly to him, reaching around to clean his back and quills there. Sonic groans in response, and Shadow pulls back a little bit to meet those dazed emerald eyes. "You're going to pass out, and it's easier to wash you now when you're still awake."

He wasn't expecting Sonic to lurch forward and press their lips together.

He's almost lost in it, as a burst of Dark Chaos Energy travels through his body in sparks and shockwaves, fully bringing out the fact that he was starving for this. For once the pain in his body was gone, and all his mind could process at that moment was _Sonic_.

One of his soapy hands grabs the back of the hedgehog's head, tilting his own and deepening their kiss, Sonic whining beneath him as he leans over him. His other hand spreads blue legs apart and he kneels between them, before reaching behind again and pulling him closer.

Sonic's legs wrap around an ebony waist, trembling almost violently. As their lips pulled apart and pressed back together, over and over again, the hero's whines turned into pleading moans.

They needed this.

Shadow knew they couldn't wait any longer. He let himself go, only careful of not hurting Sonic, and let his free hand feel in between blue thighs, and the Dark Chaos Born whimpered and bucked again.

He was going to have to be quick. He lets their mouths press together a few more times as his hand plays with the revealing tip in between Sonic's legs, then pulls away completely, despite Sonic's protest. He pulls him forward, into his lap as he sits on the floor of the shower, adjusting his body so the next step would be easier.

Sonic's moan when Shadow started to enter him made the black hedgehog shudder. It was loud and wanton, echoing off the shower walls before being smothered by the sound of running water. It was almost too easy entering him, as if Sonic's body was just made for him, and in a sense it was, he thinks, feeling as if he's drowning in him. By the time he's in all the way, Sonic is babbling incoherently in his ear, and he himself is melting into a blue that's not water.

Their energy was reacting so strongly; Shadow's fur turning gold at the ends, while Sonic's darkened considerably. The mix of gold and dark blue made an emerald green that reflected on the wet shower walls, dancing around them and making Sonic's eyes stand out so much more, and Shadow realizes for the first time that Sonic is absolutely _stunning_.

Their lips meet as hips grind against hips, their moans and pants muffled into each others mouths. It takes a second for Shadow to realize Sonic is moving _with _him, just as controlling as he is in their sinful dance.

They were slow, but it was somehow enough. It doesn't take long for them to get lost in it, clinging on to each other as if they're all that ever mattered. Their fur is slick with soap and water, and Sonic slips just a bit, but enough to make him gasp and call out a soft cry, and then like an avalanche they both start to fall apart. With Sonic's cry Shadow feels like he's about to fall over the edge, and he grabs blue hips and forces him down hard, but not enough to cause pain, and Sonic's head shoots back with a loud call of his name, and they both fall over the edge together.

* * *

Sonic's ready to pass out, just as Shadow suspected.

He finds the softest towel he can and wraps the hero in it, drying him carefully with another he finds. They're both silent, Sonic's eyelids falling and opening repetitively, his head tilted forward as he looked down at the ground. Shadow had him sitting on the sink counter so he could dry him easily, his mind swirling with so many different thoughts that he couldn't control, and he wondered if he needed sleep, too. He wants to say it, say the one thing he knows he should, but the words can't come out. Not yet, at least.

"I'm glad you're safe," is all he can say, his voice quiet.

Sonic looks up at him, ears falling slightly to their sides. "Did you look for me?" he asks, his voice just as soft.

Shadow cups his face, rubbing his thumb across it, touching their noses together. "I searched," he replies, trying to keep the strange emotions in his chest out of his throat. "I searched and I searched and I didn't stop until I found you."

Sonic closes his eyes, leaning in to him.

"That...makes me happy."

"I wish I had found you sooner," Shadow admits, making Sonic open his eyes again. They stare at each other, and Shadow knows he has to say it, he has to say it _now_.

"Sonic, I-"

Then his communicator that's sitting on the counter, starts flashing red, a high pitched beeping coming from it.

Both hedgehogs jump, their eyes widening, and Shadow curses out loud as he grabs the damn thing and looks at it.

An emergency call from Rouge.

"What the-?!" he stutters, before her face appears on the screen.

"_Shadow! We have a problem! Eggman is attacking G.U.N. HQ!"_


	15. Fourteen - Drastic Measures

**Chapter Fourteen - Drastic Measures**

Figures.

As soon as things were starting to go right again, more shit needed to happen.

"I'll...dammit," Shadow growls, putting a hand on the counter and pinching the skin between his eyes.

"You have to go," Sonic's voice is soft and warm, and it instantly calms Shadow down, clearing his head and his frustration. Sonic was right, he needed to go. He could stop Eggman and come back and finally make his apology to Sonic. Everything was okay.

"I'll be there soon," he says into his communicator, taking Rouge by surprise with his calm answer. He doesn't wait for her response and ends the call.

Sonic motions for him to come over to him with his hands, and he does, grabbing blue hips and pulling him close, burying his face in his shoulder.

Sonic hugs him, playing with black quills as he nuzzles into him. "Be careful," he murmurs, and Shadow responds by pressing a kiss into his cheek.

"Don't underestimate me, faker," the biohog answers in a warm, velvety tone, moving to kiss his mate's forehead. Sonic tilts his head up and Shadow scratches behind his left ear, massaging circles into it. He meets emerald eyes and uses his free hand to run his thumb over fawn lips. "I'll be quick."

Sonic's muzzle is pink, but he smiles sleepily and leans up, holding the side of Shadow's face to pull him down and place a kiss by his ear. He pulls him down a little more afterwards, smirking as he whispers; "You better be."

Shadow loses his ability to breathe, caught off guard by the hedgehog's rough, needy-sounding voice and demand, not expecting such a thing from the person he had hurt so badly before. He pulls back suddenly, wanting to question him but freezing when he meets dark emerald eyes.

He had forgotten they had been away from each other for so long.

Sonic was also extremely tired, barely hanging on to the real world, but he didn't seem to _not_ realize what he was doing. He had to know just how he sounded? If he wasn't careful Shadow could easily lose control over himself, and then Eggman's attack would go completely forgotten.

He can't help but indulge the hero, feeling himself smirk and grab the others fawn muzzle, tilting his head back so he could claim his lips roughly with his own.

Sonic keens, reaching up to pull Shadow down and hold him tightly against him. Their energy was sparking and felt absolutely amazing, causing a similar feeling to the rush of going into a Super form. He doesn't even realize when a hungry growl slips past his throat, but definitely notices Sonic's groan in return.

Their lips lock on to each others, pulling apart and pressing back together. Shadow's hand on Sonic's muzzle moves down to his throat, sliding his tongue into the younger's mouth. The cobalt male whined, legs starting to shake against Shadow's hips, his breath more forceful as he melted...Shadow's tongue destroying his mouth.

At the hero's whine, Shadow forces himself to stop and pull away. He _really_ couldn't rile him up now. He reaches under the hedgehog on the counter, lifting him up bridal style. He carries him out of the bathroom and into the bedroom, laying him down on the bed and covering him with blankets. Sonic reaches up for him again, and he lets him...one last time for one last kiss.

They meet eyes, and there's unspoken words between them that they felt they should say...but they couldn't. All Shadow does then is back away, getting dressed and making sure he was ready to fight. He glances at Sonic as he steps out of the room, not missing the tiny wave the other gave. He nods back and closes the door, letting out a deep breath.

Eggman was going to pay for his timing.

* * *

"I don't care what you have me do," Scourge growls at the man. "I ain't hurting Blue."

"I still find it funny you think you have a say in this matter," the doctor grins, leaning back in his chair. "I think I can still make some use of you, however."

Scourge raises a brow. "You're not roboticizing me?"

"Yet," Eggman chuckles. "You still have some work to do. Maybe if you redeem yourself I'll let you go."

"You do realize I can't believe anything you say now, right?" the green hedgehog huffs out, lacing his fingers behind his head.

Eggman smirks. "It doesn't matter, anyway."

* * *

He got there much faster than she thought he would. As he approaches their group, she can tell two things are going on in his brain: he wants to kill Eggman, and his reunion with Sonic went _very well_. She smiles at him as he walks up to her, and they meet eyes, and his hard gaze softens, if only lightly.

"Shadow," Abraham Towers stood among the G.U.N. soldiers in the group, all of them standing behind a wall of damaged robots, stuck between that and the tall wall that surrounded the HQ. It must be bad, the Ultimate Lifeform thinks, if Towers has been forced to evacuate the base.

"What's the situation?" he asks as a response to the older human. Towers turns and glares at the sight of the Egg Fleet above the HQ, robots raining down on it mercilessly.

"That's our situation," the man explains simply. "We've had to evacuate everyone and put our systems into lockdown mode."

"We've also detected high amounts of Anarchy Beryl in the attacks," Topaz, who stood next to Rouge, explains with a worried face.

Shadow's brows fly up. Scourge? Here? Why? What was he doing _now?_

"I'll look into it myself," he says, walking by the group towards the base. "Get farther back."

"Shadow!" Rouge calls out, but he ignores her. He knew she hated when he went solo on these things, but she wouldn't fight him.

He takes off with a boost from his skates towards the base, somehow alerting the Eggman robots of his presence. He lets his hands fill up with golden Chaos Energy, ruby eyes glowing as the machines started firing at him immediately.

He dodges bullets and lasers with Chaos Control, firing spears of white hot energy at them in return. His path towards the base was marked by clouds of smoke and fire, the Ultimate Lifeform destroying everything in his path. He makes it to the edge of the building, and instead of going in he runs up the wall, skating upwards towards the largest ship above him. Thankfully the doctor didn't have the Chaos Emeralds this time, but things could still go very badly, especially if Scourge was here.

As he gets closer to the top of the tall building, a swarm of robots notice him and start chasing after him, thousands of bullets spraying the windows and walls apart around him. He puts up a shield around himself made of energy, hissing when the bullets rained against it. He pushes himself to go faster, calculating how hard he needed to push off the building to land on the ship.

His foot hits the edge, and he launches himself up. Pushing his skates to the max, he flies up close enough to Chaos Control onto the ship, landing on its deck.

He turns his head to look up at the bridge, eyes narrowing in the bright sunlight. It seemed to take a second for the robots to realize he was on their ship, but it doesn't take them long to start firing at him.

He takes off once again, spindashing through the nearest robot and turning his body midair to target the next one. He grabs the third as it flies by and hitches a ride up from it, crashing it into the bridge and making a way inside it.

He rolls in and charges up a Chaos Blast, letting it explode off of him and destroy every single robot in the room.

_"Shadow! Can you hear me?" _came Rouge's voice in his ear piece. He holds a hand up to it as he stands straight, turning to look out of the large window in the front of the bridge.

"I'm here. There's no way to destroy the ship without it falling on the HQ."

_"We know," _Towers answered. _"Is there any way for you to take control of the ship?"_

Shadow's skates scrape and crunch over metal as he walks over to the control console, studying it with a disapproving frown.

"I'm afraid not," he says, looking back out of the window looking over Central City, trying to ignore the uneasiness he felt in his stomach - he was _high_ up. "It's all controlled by him remotely."

_"I'll see what I can do from here," _Topaz calls back. _"Don't destroy the ships, just clear them out."_

"Understood," nods, turning to leave the ship.

_"Shadow, hold on! I think Scourge is headed your way!" _Rouge calls out.

He snaps his attention over to his left, feeling the energy only seconds before Super Scourge is crashing through the wall.

* * *

He couldn't sleep.

He dozed off for a few minutes, not really fully sleeping, however.

Something told him Shadow was in trouble.

There was this nagging feeling in the back of his head telling him that Shadow was in danger. He couldn't sleep, couldn't think of anything other than Shadow.

He sits up.

Staring at the door that Shadow had walked over, the cobalt male bites his lip with a sharp fang. It would be extremely risky. He wasn't exactly at full health and could easily go into heat...or get captured again.

He shudders inwardly. He's been captured twice now. Things were _not_ looking good for him.

When did he become a damsel in distress? Why did he become so dumb when the bond was formed? He acted more like a girl than the girls he knows.

He closes his eyes and chuckles dryly to himself.

No wonder why Shadow did what he did.

They're friendship had been tense for some reason he couldn't understand. It had been as if one day Shadow could smile and the next he hated him. Why Shadow suddenly flipped on him made him a little worried, but he let it go. After all, Shadow had always been a little off about his emotions.

...but, it didn't get any better over time. It just got worse, to his complete confusion. He ended up getting bitter back, and by the time they had bonded, they both ended up flipping the switch.

Maybe if he had swallowed his pride and just _talked_ with Shadow about it everything would have been fine. It didn't help that his energy had been so unstable from going Dark, but still, did he have that little control? He thought he was getting better at handling his Dark Super form, keeping it in line. Why did he let it control him? Why did he let it ruin his friendship with Shadow?

He falls back onto his pillow and stares blankly at the ceiling.

He was in the wrong _with_ Shadow.

It was so easy to call himself a victim after what had happened. He didn't even realize he had instigated it from the beginning. He had been so blind and selfish.

...because he had just gotten his life back. After being captured and tortured for a month by Eggman, all his friends and people in the city started taking so much care of him. Knuckles came to see him more and started treating him like a younger brother. Tails was kinder to him where he had before been distant and a little snappy. His parents, well...his _adopted_ parents brought him home cooked meals and clothes and gifts. Antoine didn't even tease him anymore. Then Sally…

Sally was so nice to him now. Her quick temper was gone, and she didn't talk down to him anymore. Every meeting she planned she planned it with him. She actually took his advice and words and listened to why her plans may not work. She never once tried crossing the line of friendship but didn't even look twice at any other guy, and could have a normal, bland meeting with Monkey Khan while turning down his advancements. No flirting with anyone but him.

Being bonded to Shadow meant he would never have a good ending with Sally. After all this time he actually felt like he was falling in love again and to have that ripped away once again…

His bond with Shadow meant he couldn't just do whatever he wanted anymore. The scrolls he read on Chaos Bonds explained it as a "servant working for their own servant." A Light Chaos Born was considered a "Dark Chaos Master," and the Dark Chaos Born were seen as "nymphs."

Since he was the Dark Chaos Born, his responsibilities were following the orders given to him and making trade deals with his mate. Shadow's job was to protect him from anything harmful, and follow through with the trade deals.

Basically, if Sonic wanted something and went to Shadow for it, Shadow could say either yes or no and that would be that, but if he says yes, and the request is big enough, he can demand something equal in value in return. Sonic would have to accept. Their Chaos energy would tie a knot together, and if either of them broke their side of the bargain, they would be attacked by their own energy. The deals could go both ways, but only if both sides were balanced.

If there was something Shadow didn't want Sonic to at all, or do something in particular, he could give an "Order." An Order was something only Shadow could give. It would put a lock on Sonic's energy, literally forcing him to follow the Order. If he broke the Order, he could be punished by Shadow's discretion, or by his own Chaos energy in devastating ways.

These were rules set at the creation of the Chaos Born to keep things balanced. Dark Chaos Born are the strongest beings and can be extremely hard or impossible to control. Light Chaos Born are made dominant over them to ensure they never go crazy. If a Light Chaos Born went crazy, a Dark Chaos Born would be strong enough on his own to stop him.

Sonic thinks back to the ARK battle and the Black Arms invasions, and all the times he's had to stop Shadow from doing something both extremely destructive and dangerous. Shadow usually listened after some force, performing complete turnaround miracles after some prodding.

The same could be said for him. Shadow was somehow able to control him in his Dark Form. His memories of the fight in Mobotropolis were hazily coming back to him, and he remembered how his thoughts had gone from "rip Eggman's head off" to "listen to Shadow" in an instant of hearing Super Shadow's voice.

...and Shadow was always saving him. Catching him in the ARK battle and sacrificing himself to save him. Not letting Sonic come to the Black Comet with him because it was _his_ fight, it was dangerous. Saving him from Eggman's clutches, always showing up when he was in danger, and always either helping him or saving him from Scourge.

Have they always been destined to bond? Was this supposed to happen all along? What were the odds that they were the only Light and Dark Chaos Born left _and_ evenly matched?

Sonic sighs at his own headache. He couldn't even think straight.

Turning his head to look back at the door, he frowns.

He should apologize to Shadow for being a dumbass. Maybe he didn't deserve what happened to him, but Shadow didn't deserve to be treated like that, either. One wrong may be worse than the other, but they were still both wrongs.

Plus…

It would be…interesting to have an actual relationship with Shadow. What would that even be like? His face reddens as he thinks about it. Shadow had been so good to him in the bathroom...and the shower, he thinks with hot cheeks. What if he was always like that? Sweet and caring to him and only him?

He can feel butterflies dance around in his stomach. The idea of Shadow only being nice and caring to him but still mean and intimidating to everyone else was…exciting? He almost felt selfish thinking like that, but he couldn't deny he would love it.

...and oh, if anyone messed with him…

Shadow would be overprotective, he knows for sure. The striped hedgehog was extremely possessive and stubborn, so if anyone even _looked _at Sonic in a way he didn't like, he would label them as an enemy. If anyone hurt Sonic, Shadow would probably kill them.

...why did that excite him so much?

Was that wrong of him? Were these bad thoughts? Did this make him a bad person? Why did the idea of Shadow _killing someone for him _make his heart jump in a good way?

He slaps his hands over his face.

He decided that he was actually losing his mind.

He blamed his Dark Chaos energy.

A loud ringing could be heard outside the bedroom door, coming from the kitchen. He frowns at it, wondering who could be calling Club Rouge while a part of the city is being attacked. Some people…

It stops ringing after a minute and he suddenly gets another bad feeling about Shadow.

Then the phone starts ringing again.

He gets up without a thought and grabs his socks, gloves, and shoes. He puts them on as he leaves the room and heads into the kitchen, over to where the phone sat ringing on the counter. He picks it up and hears a bunch of loud, terrible noises.

"Hello?"

_"Sonic? You there, blue boy?" _It's Rouge. His stomach drops.

"Yeah, what's going on?" he asks, turning to grab the TV remote off the counter next to him and turn on the screen. The news was of course on, and on it was live footage of the Egg Fleet just absolutely destroying G.U.N. HQ.

_"Well… Things were about to be going well, but now Scourge is here and it looks like he's in his Super form."_

Sonic freezes.

What was that idiot doing? Why was he there? Was he fighting Shadow or fighting Eggman? Why was he in his Super form?

"Are they fighting?" he asks, starting to pace around the kitchen while watching the TV.

_"I don't know what's going on in there," _Rouge admits tiredly. _"Shadow's not responding, either. What's worse is that Eggman is now trying to hack into G.U.N.'s computers. We don't have much time."_

Sonic's foot taps stressfully.

So his gut was right. Why did he doubt it? If Scourge was working for Eggman, it was because he didn't have a choice, but why was Eggman even attacking G.U.N.? Was it because he was rescued? Why not attack Mobotropolis while it was still weak?

Then, as he's standing there staring at the TV feeling useless, he realizes it.

"Rouge, I'm on my way. Tell Shadow to get out of there, it's a trap. They're after _him_, now."

_"Wait, what?! It's a plan to capture Shadow?"_

"I think so, I'll be there. Get everyone as far away as possible, in case I'm uhh…" he pauses and grins sheepishly. "In case I'm not myself."

_"I hate when you hedgehogs do stupid, suicidal things. We just got you back, Blue."_

He chuckles again. "I'll see you in a minute."

* * *

"I thought you weren't helping the doctor," Shadow states, glaring at the purple hedgehog in front of him.

Super Scourge grins widely, picking something out of his teeth. "We came to an agreement. I don't like hurting Blue, but _you_ I can totally fuck up."

Shadow sneers. "So the doctor is after me, now?"

Scourge shrugs. "I guess. You see, he's not trying to just capture you guys, but he's gotta make Sonic's life as miserable as possible."

"I doubt that's all he's trying to do," the biohog huffs.

Scourge puts his hands on his hips and grins at him. "You are _so _stupid."

What? What was he missing?

"I feel bad Blue's stuck with you forever," the moebian goes on with a shrug. "You're as dense as they come."

Shadow's eyes narrow. This talkative son of a bitch.

He doesn't wait for him to keep talking, and charges him head on.

* * *

"It's just the HQ, not the city?"

The echidna was speaking into his communicator as he shut the vault door to the Master Emerald. He's kept it locked up ever since Sonic went missing again, not wanting to take any chances.

_"Yeah," _came Tails's reply._ "Nicole and Sally are trying to get ahold of someone to find out what exactly's going on. Once we head out there, I'll let you know if we need you."_

Knuckles nods, heading up the stairs to exit the vault. "Alright. Any word on Sonic, yet?"

_"N-No…" _

The kid sounded so dejected.

"Alright," the ruby male sighs. "I'll wait on you. Let me know and I'll-"

_Boom._

The island shook violently as if it had crashed into something. The echidna lets out a shout as he falls into the wall and almost down the stairs.

_"Knuckles?!"_

It takes a second for him to get a hold of himself, his head pounding and his vision hazy. "Something just crashed into the island…"

Another loud boom shook the island again, this time sounding more like a crack of lighting. The guardian climbs the steps as fast as he can, running up and outside and over the top of the hill to see what was happening.

He stops abruptly with wide eyes once he sees what it is.

"Oh, fuck me."

_"Knuckles?" _Tails called, sounding extremely worried.

"The Egg Fleet is here," the guardian says grimly.

There had to be at least _fifty_ ships. They covered the sky, completely surrounding the floating island, a few of them crashed and lodged into the continent to keep it from moving. The guardian feels his breath leave him.

"Angel Island is doomed."

* * *

Maybe attacking a guy who was a little bit crazy who was also in a Super form wasn't the smartest idea.

He curses himself as he climbs out of the rubble of what use to be a pile of robots. He stands shakily, wiping a trail of blood away from his mouth.

He forgot what it was like to fight Super Scourge.

A robot near him bursts with an onslaught of dark smoke, spewing into his face and making him grimace and turn his head, waving his arm.

He hears metal tapping of feet approaching cautiously and takes a quiet step back, kneeling into the smoke. His dark fur would conceal him perfectly.

"Where'd ya go, Stripes?" the glowing hedgehog calls out loudly. "Are you seriously hiding from me, now?"

Brute force wasn't cutting it, he decided. Maybe stealth and smarts were better. Super Scourge could probably put him into a coma, maybe a short one, and that was the very last thing he needed. He doubted the guy could kill him. Scourge may act bad, but Shadow knew that he's never killed a person and wouldn't.

Sonic, on the other hand…

Sonic could get scary, even for him. When his friends are hurt, or his lines are crossed, Sonic could go from the happiest, chillest mobian on the planet, to the most terrifying thing in the universe. Dark Sonic didn't know limits, didn't care for them, and if he hasn't killed anyone already, it was because they were extremely lucky.

He felt himself smile, feeling both odd and yet content. There was something really _interesting _about Sonic in that matter. How could someone who claimed to be so heroic and cool, get so _dark _and angry and serious. Even when he was flustered, he was super serious and snappy.

It was...cute.

As he watched Scourge huff and turn away, his smile falters a little. That was the second time in a row he's thought of Sonic as attractive. It's not like these thoughts haven't happened before, but these were the first real ones he was acknowledging. He's never felt physically attracted to anyone before, but when he thinks of Sonic's blue fur, emerald green eyes, slim in the hips but somehow _plump, _with an angry, flustered look on his red face...

He couldn't believe it.

He was _really_ attracted to Sonic.

He feels a rush of adrenaline at this epiphany. Maria would be screaming at him in high pitched, excited squeals. His face heats up and he wipes a hand down his right cheek, slightly scowling at himself.

_'That blue idiot…'_

How did he manage to actually admit it all to himself? He had no idea, but he felt crazy jittery. He watches Scourge with shaking hands, waiting for just the right moment.

The hedgehog turns around, and Shadow _dashes._

"What the shit?!" Scourge cries out as his back is violently hit by Shadow, who has perfectly spindashed into the other hedgehog's spine.

Scourge goes flying, crashing through a wall and out of the ship through the sky. Shadow stands up proudly, smirking to himself.

Then he felt a very familiar, warm glow in his wrists. Then he sensed it.

He turns around with widening eyes as Sonic, halfway in his Dark form, lands gracefully on the ship next to him.

"Sonic?" Shadow spits out. "What are you doing here?"

Sonic's fur is midnight blue, his quills standing, but his eyes were glowing emerald. Shadow realizes something in shock...

Sonic was in _complete_ control of his Dark form right now.

The hedgehog gives him a tiny smile. "You know this is a trap to capture you, right?"

Shadow crosses his arms. "I was starting to suspect that," he answers, before frowning. "Aren't you supposed to be resting?"

The midnight hedgehog chuckles, his cheeks turning pink. He rubs his nose with his index finger. "I was worried about you?"

Shadow feels that warm feeling in his wrists spread to his chest. He feels almost anxious, not sure how to handle so many new emotions at once

"You're in control of your Dark form," he decides to say, turning his head to hide his smile and flush.

Sonic's energy was practically _singing. _It felt so pure. "Y-Yeah," the hero mumbles with a sideways smile. "I wasn't expecting this. I didn't even think it through." Shadow looks back at him, studying him as he continued. "I just decided that I wanted and needed to be in my Dark form and I just…let it happen? I don't know what I did…but I thought you could be in trouble and I wouldn't have gotten here so fast without it."

The scrolls did say the more stable their relationship was, the better they would be. The more powerful. Was that what was happening? Shadow feels his throat tighten for some unknown reason. He certainly didn't _feel _stable.

"You okay?" Sonic asks a little worriedly, taking a step closer to him.

Shadow doesn't even think. Just lets it happen. He leans forward and takes Sonic's lips with his own. The hero makes a quiet, muffled shout in surprise, almost taking a step back. He freezes up then, and Shadow wraps his arm around his waist and brings him closer, turning his head to deepen their kiss.

Sonic hums and leans into it.

...because they weren't standing on a Eggman flying war ship, not fighting a Super powered maniac, not above a city that might be destroyed by said flying war ships.

This was definitely the time for this.

"You two have _got _to be kidding me!"

They both jump at Scourge's call, turning to glare at him with red cheeks.

Super Scourge walked towards them casually, picking out and throwing black quills from his back. He addresses Sonic with an obnoxious shout; "I thought he _wasn't_ your boyfriend?"

"I'll handle him," Sonic says firmly, Dark Chaos energy like a fire around him. "Take out the robots and find a way to take control of the ships."

"Are you sure?" Shadow questions, not liking the idea of leaving Sonic with the pervert who captured him before.

Sonic looks back at him and smirks. "Are you worried?"

Shadow stares for a good second, admiring him for everything he was worth, and smirks back. "Of course not."

Sonic turns back to a very annoyed Scourge, eyes narrowing in determination.

"This won't take long," he says, sounding more like the Dark form he was in.

Shadow runs off immediately.

"Rouge, are you there?" he calls into his communicator, skating towards the edge of the ship and flying off of it to the next one, ignoring his bitter fear of heights.

_"Shadow?! What have you been doing? What's going on?" _She sounds pissed.

"Fighting Scourge, but Sonic is taking care of it now. What do I have to do?" He watches the ship he was quickly approaching aim its cannons at him, robots about to launch.

_"Sonic is…" _she goes quiet for a second, processing his words. _"Will he be okay?"_

"Yes, now tell me what I have to do."

He lands loudly on the deck, rolling to a crouch and then just barely dodging the cannon fire by dashing forward.

_"That sounds rough," _Rouge comments at the sound of it all. _"There are small ships all around the fleet. They're the ones in charge of the signal the rest of the fleet receives."_

"Got it," the biohog answers curtly. "Moving out."

He hangs up their call and heads towards the bridge of the ship, slicing through robots at the speed of sound, feeling his adrenaline rush continue to push him passed his normal limits. It doesn't take long for him to find where the robots are coming from and completely blow it up, flying off to the next ship.

He sees G.U.N. ships and robots finally enter the battle, someone getting control over them again (most likely Topaz). The machines target the Eggman robots, clearing the skies for him and making it easier for him to focus on finding the small ships. He prepares himself to land on a big one that's being overrun by G.U.N., curling into a ball and spindashing into the deck. He takes out a small robot near him before looking up. He spots four small ships around him, all spaced out from each other.

He sighs. He hated flying ships.

* * *

"Oh?" Scourge tilts his head. "You're gonna try and fight me knowing I can just manipulate your energy again?"

"You won't," Sonic glares at him. "What are you doing? Why follow Eggman?"

"For the record, I don't follow anyone," the Super hedgehog declares. "I'm just doing what's best for me. I mean, you're right, I'm not going to fuck with your energy, but I've gotta do what I've gotta do."

Sonic rolls his eyes, shrugging. "I can't even with you anymore."

The purple hedgehog grins. "What'chya gonna do about it, baby?"

Dark Sonic scowls.

Shadow better be quick, because _this_ was going to be over _real_ soon.

* * *

**Notes -**

_Hope you guys enjoyed! _

_If you haven't seen the update yet, we've decided to leave Inkbunny. Long story short, we felt bad being there, and are going to keep posting on Twitter and soon Webtoons. We're looking into alternatives, but we just mentally and emotionally can't handle inkbunny for certain reasons. I hope those of you who follow us on there understand._

_Again, updates are every Friday, now! Thank you guys for supporting us for so long and we're happy to be thriving again. Special thank you to those of you who have supported Bonds of Chaos so much. We've almost stopped this story because of the hate, so thank you for continuing to be there as dedicated followers. It makes our hearts flutter._

_Love you guys!_

_-Anoni_


	16. Fifteen - Deja Vu

***Slight Warning: This Chapter covers some topics that may be sensitive to certain people. Check story tags for more info***

**Chapter 15 - Deja Vu**

_"Agh!" _the echidna shouts as he's thrown into the dark, metal cell, the robots outside slamming the door closed and trapping him inside. He looks up, scrambling to his feet with wide, angry eyes. "Let me out of here you cowards!"

"Knuckles Prime?" he hears in a familiar voice behind him.

He whips around in surprise as he sees Zonic the Zone Cop standing there, helmet gone and blue eyes focused worriedly on him.

"Zonic? What are you doing here?" the guardian questions with a suspicious frown. The blue hedgehog sighs and looks away.

"I came here with Silver to stop something terrible from happening that will destroy this timeline, but it appears Eggman was already way ahead of us."

Knuckles crosses his arms, brows furrowing deeply. "You and Silver? What's going to happen?"

The Zone Cop meets his eyes with a scowl of his own. "He's trying to take Sonic down for good."

"Isn't he always? What makes this time so different?"

Zonic sits on the bench connected to the wall and leans his head back. "I'm surprised you haven't figured it out yet. It's the very reason you were captured."

Knuckles blinks at him, not understanding. "What do you mean? What did I miss?"

"If my timing is correct, three months ago Dr. Eggman overran Mobotropolis with his fleet and Sonic went Dark, correct?"

Knuckles nods, walking slowly to stand next to the wall across from the zone cop.

"The only thing that stopped Dark Sonic from killing Dr. Eggman and accidentally destroying the town was Shadow, who had been in his Super form when he interacted with him," the hedgehog explains, watching Knuckles's eyes widen as he continued. "When they both used Chaos Control to warp the fleet to the ocean, Sonic's Dark Chaos energy reacted to Shadow's Light Chaos energy, and because of that…"

"They bonded," Knuckles murmurs. "They…" he pauses, grabbing his head slowly with both large hands, as everything comes crashing together in his brain. "They fucking bonded?! How did I not know that?!"

Zonic chuckles dryly. "Sonic kept it from everyone, especially you, because he's afraid of how everyone will react. Plus, he doesn't want the bond. Neither of them do."

"They don't want the bond…" Knuckles repeats. "...but that's not healthy. What have they been doing?"

Zonic takes in a deep breath. "I'm afraid the situation is worse than you think."

"Well tell me everything," the echidna grumbles out, dropping to sit on the floor against the wall. Zonic nods, but he looks grim.

"There's another reason why Sonic didn't want you to know, but it's the worst one."

* * *

"Knuckles has been kidnapped?!" Amy cries out.

They were all standing in the meeting room, the situation now ten times more chaotic. While Eggman was attacking Central City and G.U.N. HQ, he also had a fleet surround Angel Island and kidnap Knuckles.

"He's taken the Master Emerald, too," Tails explains with a shaky sigh. "Angel Island crash landed into the ocean, and they took Knuckles somewhere off radar."

"This can't get any worse," Sally mumbles, sitting in her chair at the head of the table. "This can_not_ get any worse."

"So what do we do?" Bunnie speaks up, raising a hand, the other one on her hip. "We still haven't found sugarhog, either."

"G.U.N. HQ is still under attack," Rotor calls, sitting at the table with his laptop. "They can't hold their own much longer."

The group goes quiet, no one able to think of what to do.

"We need to get over to G.U.N. to figure out what's going on there," Sally sighs out loudly. "Tails, Nicole, Bunnie, and I will go investigate. Amy, Rotor, and Antione, I want you to go to Angel Island and see what you can find."

Everyone nods and shares their agreement, all worried about what was to come.

* * *

Super Scourge was nothing to Dark Sonic, but he had to be careful. This was the first time he had control over his dark form completely, and he had no idea how powerful he actually was. He didn't want to accidentally kill his Anti, no matter how annoying he was.

As Shadow left him behind to take on the ships, Sonic braced himself.

"Oh?" Scourge tilts his head. "You're gonna try and fight me knowing I can just manipulate your energy again?"

"You won't," Sonic glares at him. "What are you doing? Why follow Eggman?"

"For the record, I don't follow anyone," the Super hedgehog declares. "I'm just doing what's best for me. I mean, you're right, I'm not going to fuck with your energy, but I've gotta do what I've gotta do."

Sonic rolls his eyes, shrugging. "I can't even with you anymore."

The purple hedgehog grins. "What'chya gonna do about it, baby?"

Dark Sonic scowls.

Shadow better be quick, because _this_ was going to be over _real_ soon.

He dashes forward faster than he expected he could, curling up into a ball and slamming into the Super hedgehog. They both go flying off the edge of the ship, and Dark Sonic Chaos Controls away to watch Scourge right himself and fly up after him.

He dodges to the side effortlessly, then does it again at the next attack. His hands are lazily behind his back while Super Scourge punches and kicks angrily, growling loudly as every hit misses. Dark Sonic was simply too fast.

"Fight me already!" the Anti yells, swinging his fist with everything he has.

Dark Sonic catches his arm and smiles sadistically at him. "Oh, you don't want me to do that."

"Arghh!" Sourge yells out angrily, kicking his leg up into hero, or at least attempting to. Sonic moves out of the way again without a problem, making Scourge snap. "Stop messing around!"

Dark's smile drops like a switch.

"Okay then."

Scourge didn't even have time to blink.

Dark Sonic shoots into him like a bullet, grabbing him and slamming him through the large ship above them. They fly through the entire thing so fast Scourge almost doesn't even realize they go through two more above it.

Then he's just _falling _through the sky, landing hard on the deck of another ship with a loud thud. For a second, he feels nothing.

...and then all the pain catches up to him and he _screams_.

Dark Sonic walks slowly around him, watching him with half lidded eyes. He didn't expect to be _that_ fast, and that wasn't even his limit.

He stops, his frown deepening. Was he seriously using Scourge as a test dummy for his dark form?

Somehow he didn't care.

He walks back the other way, taking tiny, cautious steps closer to his counterpart. He could feel his anger, could feel his fear. Each emotion had a different smell, different effect on him. The Anti's anger was burning hot, and gave the dark hero a boost of energy. His fear felt cool and refreshing, making him see sharper. He supposed that if positive feelings from his friends boosted his Super form, peoples' negative feelings would boost his Dark form.

He watches Scourge take in a sharp breath, before slamming his fists on the ground. _"Fuck _that hurts!"

Sonic grins.

"You wanted it, I gave it to you," he calls cheerfully. He was getting cozy in his dark form. "You want more?"

Scourge laughs bitterly, pushing himself up in a crouch. He coughs and spits blood to the side, wiping his mouth with his sleeve. "You're hot as fuck in this form." Dark Sonic's eyes widen at this and his cheeks turn pink. Scourge laughs loudly. "Makes me wanna have another round with you."

The midnight hedgehog smirks, but it's an angry smirk. "If that's what you want."

* * *

It wasn't that he was afraid of heights, it was more of the fear of falling and losing his memory again. As he jumps from ship to ship, destroying robots and moving closer to the small control ships, he thinks back to his camera, and the fact that he still hasn't found his picture with Sonic. It was starting to really bother him. What if he lost his memory and forgot him?

No, that wouldn't happen, never again. It couldn't after everything they've been through.

He decides to focus on the task at hand, jumping up the bridge of the ship to stand at its highest point, eyeing the small ship he needed to get to.

He was close enough, he could use his skates to give himself a boost-

_"Shadow!" _came Rouge's voice over the communicator. _"We have a problem!"_

The black and red hedgehog rolls his eyes as he answers. "What now?'

_"Eggman hacked into the database! Everything is compromised now; the HQ needs to be destroyed!"_

He takes in a deep breath and puffs out a breath of annoyance. "Very well."

That made this job easier at least.

He readies himself and jumps up to the small ship, blasting with his skates across the short distance in the sky. He hears an oncoming missile on his left and is barely able to dodge out of the way in time, but is hit and grabbed by a hawk robot and carried off.

He growls out and tries to kick out of his captor's grip, the hawk digging its talons into his arms and torso like it wanted to shred him into pieces. One of the talons digs into his ribs and he lets out a loud curse, powering up his hands with hot red Chaos energy.

_"Chaos-!" _he screams, and the robot screeches angrily back. _"Spear!"_

The robot explodes and sends him falling, passed the ship he had been trying to get on and hurtling through the sky.

This could _not_ be happening.

He rights himself in the air, wincing as his left arm and his torso explode in pain, clenching his teeth tightly. His skates were running on fumes at this point, and he couldn't catch himself at this speed even if they were okay. The ground was quickly approaching, and he wondered if a weak Chaos Shield would be enough to protect him from too much damage.

He hears a loud boom to his right and is suddenly in Dark Sonic's arms, the hedgehog having swooped down and caught him in time.

"Gotch'ya buddy!" Sonic calls out with a smile. It was the nicest, warmest thing he's said to him in months, his eyes shining like stars, despite the dark form he was in. Shadow can't help but grab Sonic's muzzle with his hand and pull him into a full-mouthed kiss. The dark hedgehog hums in surprise, eyes widening as he flies them up to the small ship.

They land and Sonic gently sets him down, the two meeting eyes with pink in their muzzles. An explosion to their right jolts them back into the attack, and Shadow motions for Sonic to follow him.

"G.U.N.'s database has been compromised. We need to destroy the HQ," he explains as they head towards the bridge.

"What? We're just going to let it be destroyed?" Sonic asks, tilting his head. "We can't stop it from happening?"

"It would take too long to stop the doctor any other way. This is all we can do."

They jump up and into the bridge, taking out the small group of robots quickly, Shadow ignoring his injuries as best he can. Sonic seems to notice, frowning at him worriedly.

"We need to crash the ships directly into the base," he says, turning away to hide his embarrassment. He didn't like appearing weak in front of Sonic.

"Do they have a way to contain the explosion?" the midnight hero questions, crouching to take a breather. Shadow frowns.

"I'm assuming so. There isn't much else we can do."

"Hmm," Sonic hums, looking away thoughtfully. "I can try to keep everything together, if you know how to take out the ship?"

Shadow raises a brow. "How much longer do you have in that form? You look tired."

Sonic smirks. "I'm fine. I've got enough in me to do this."

He's putting on a show, but Shadow can tell through their bond that Sonic isn't doing good. He never got that much of a chance to recover from Scourge, and now he was fighting an entire fleet and Super hedgehog. Speaking of…

"Where's Scourge?" Shadow asks, making Sonic scowl and look away.

"He fell, but I didn't have a chance to grab him cause I saw you fall."

Shadow hears this and loses his track of thought. For some reason he's surprised…he would think Sonic would save Scourge over him.

"Do you know how to do this?" Sonic asks, changing the subject. Shadow catches his thoughts again and nods, reaching for the inhibitors on his wrists and taking them off. Sonic's eyes widen, the hedgehog running forward to stop him. "What are you doing?!"

"I'm going to destroy this ship. The others will disconnect, and they will all fall into the HQ," he explains.

"Yeah, and then you'll die again," Sonic snaps angrily. "Put your rings back on. I can destroy the ship myself."

They stare at each other, both feeling anxious.

"I'll be fine," Shadow states, even though he wasn't sure.

"You know I can sense lies, right?" the midnight hedgehog deadpans with half lidded eyes.

Shadow smirks and leans forward, grabbing Sonic's lips with his own. The Dark Chaos Born hums irritably and leans into him. Shadow uses this distraction to take off his other ring and put them both into Sonic's hands. The hero pulls back, opening his mouth to complain, but Shadow stops him with another kiss, this time slipping his tongue into the hedgehog's mouth and pulling him closer, completely overwhelming him.

Sonic pants out a breathy groan, trying to get out of the biohog's grasp. He wasn't trying very _hard_, though.

Shadow pulls back from the others mouth and moves on to his throat, pressing a few kisses before sucking and biting him.

_"Ahh~ha~ _Hold on!" the midnight hedgehog moans out, standing up on his toes and leaning back. "Okay! _Okay!" _When Shadow doesn't stop, Sonic whines out and shudders violently_. "Stop, I'm going to go into heat!"_

Shadow grins at that admission and pulls back, his grin only growing as he takes in Sonic's red, flustered, angry face. It was a face that was really starting to grow on him.

"You need to keep the ships contained in a barrier so the city isn't destroyed. I'll be fine," he says softly.

Sonic doesn't look convinced, but he pulls away and sighs, waving him away. "Fine, whatever. It's not like I like watching you kill yourself time and time again."

He knows Sonic is talking about the ARK, but he doesn't think much of it. "We don't have time. You need to get out there, now."

He turns around and ignores Sonic's furious gaze, knowing there was no point in arguing. He feels the other Chaos Control away and sighs in relief. Building up his energy, he thinks of how much he enjoyed seeing Sonic all irritated and hot, and the sounds he made when he was kissing him. He smirks to himself, looking out the window of the bridge and feeling his energy peak.

He suddenly feels an extreme amount of deja vu hit him, making him gasp and nearly fall forward. His vision goes white, and he can't hear for a second, can't focus on anything around him. He's unable to hold onto his energy because of it, and it explodes off of him, completely destroying everything around him.

* * *

_He's floating in the sky, too high up to see the ground. He feels light and steady, despite his fear of falling. He looks up at the sun and feels its warmth, clearing his mind and helping him realize this was too real to be a dream._

_"Shadow!" _

_That voice sounded like…Silver?_

_He turns around and sure enough, Silver is floating to him, amber eyes staring in surprise._

_"Silver," Shadow replies hesitantly. This was definitely not a dream, but he could tell they only had so much time, so much control over it._

_Silver stares at him carefully, brows furrowing as if deep in thought. Then he seems to realize something, and he perks up instantly._

_"Shadow, listen to me very carefully… No matter what happens, don't let Sonic leave until you've apologized."_

_Shadow frowns in confusion. "What do you mean?"_

_Silver grabs his shoulders and shakes him in irritation. "Just listen to me! You have to apologize now or everything will be so much harder to fix. We've hit the three month time limit. You _have _to apologize."_

_Shadow grabs him back. "What will happen if I don't?" He didn't understand too much right now, but he needed to know at least this._

_Silver glares at him. "I'll kill you."_

That _was unexpected._

_The sky is getting brighter and brighter, and Silver backs away._

_"No matter what happens, don't let him leave without apologizing."_

* * *

The dark hedgehog curses as he watches the ship explode. That was faster than he expected Shadow to do that. He moves then, no time to waste, and creates a small orb in the sky above the base. It pulls on the exploding ships around him, bringing them all together like a magnet or black hole. He then focuses his energy to create a shield around the base, keeping the explosions inside the barrier.

He pants out, feeling the strain of using so much energy in so many different places at once. Luckily, being in his dark form made him faster than light itself, letting him do multiple things at once all within a short amount of time. He was still exhausted from it, and he knew he didn't have much time.

He makes sure all the ships are contained within the barrier before letting the orb explode, taking everything out inside the barrier. The explosion is deafeningly loud, all that energy contained within such a little bubble.

He screams out at the sudden loss of energy, the explosion threatening to rip him apart.

_Shadow_.

He needed to find Shadow.

He and Shadow were the only ones left inside the barrier, he could feel it. The entire place had been evacuated, and he couldn't feel Scourge's energy signature anymore.

He can barely see through the smoke and flames and hell all around him, and he knew he was going to crash soon. He feels for Shadow's energy and follows it, finding the hedgehog in a small shield keeping him floating in the sky. He's unconscious, but Sonic had made sure to shield him before letting the explosion off so he didn't get hurt. He grabs his mate and flies towards the ground, the barrier around what was left of G.U.N. HQ dissipating, smoke escaping into the city.

"Sonic!" Rouge calls as he lands, running to him and taking Shadow from him to lay him on the ground. She turns to ask Sonic if he's alright, but the hedgehog only groans and falls over, his fur fading back to cobalt as he loses the rest of his form and blacks out.

* * *

Shadow wakes up with Sonic laying on top of him, face buried into his white chest.

He takes a second to look around and see that he's in his bedroom at Club Rouge, and one glance at the clock on his nightstand tells him it's dead in the middle of the night.

Sonic groans in his sleep, feeling Shadow move beneath him. The black hedgehog stares for a moment, then sees that both he and Sonic have bandages on in multiple places; himself specifically around his torso and arm. He feels stiff and sore, the same way he did when he was low on energy. His inhibitors were back on his wrists, and he sees Sonic is wearing his own. He can also tell Sonic is going to be in heat soon, based on the sweet smell he was putting off, and the way their energy was pulling on each other.

He thinks of his dream with Silver and frowns. He was used to getting deja vu after being amnesic. It usually hit him like a truck and took his breath away, but this time he had no idea what caused it. Before it was because of past memories resurfacing, but this time it felt different. It felt…intense. Did something happen he wasn't aware of?

The fact that Silver was the one in the dream only made him more uneasy about it. Silver was most likely traveling through time to fix something in the near future, but what?

_"No matter what happens…"_

If he didn't apologize, something terrible was going to happen.

He already made his decision, though. Why would Silver threaten him? Was…

His eyes narrow.

Was something going to happen that stops him from apologizing?

He feels Sonic move again, the hedgehog starting to wake up.

"Sonic," he murmurs, reaching for and rubbing a thumb over Sonic's cheek.

The blue hero hums and nuzzles into his hand, taking his time to wake up. Shadow sits up, slowly and carefully, pulling Sonic up with him so the hedgehog is straddling him, sleepily rubbing his eyes.

"Hmm?" he hums as Shadow pulls him forward, the Ultimate Lifeform sitting back against the pillows.

"Are you alright?" Shadow finds himself asking almost naturally. Sonic finally looks at him, his emerald eyes squinting at him in the dark room.

"Me? You're the one who…" he stops suddenly, his brain waking up, and then his eyes narrow and he punches Shadow right in the injured arm.

The striped hedgehog shouts in surprise, looking at his mate completely perplexed. "What are you-?"

"You shouldn't take off your inhibitors," Sonic huffs at him. "If I hadn't put up a shield for you…" he doesn't finish, not able to. Shadow stares for a moment, before frowning deeply.

"There wasn't another option. I don't see why it's such a big deal to you," he says, not meaning to sound so irritated, but Sonic's eyes widen, and the hero scoffs loudly, turning and getting out of bed. Shadow sits up, ignoring the pain in his side as he pushes himself up. "What are you doing?"

"Leaving," the hedgehog says simply, his voice sharp with an edge as he grabs a pair of Shadow's gloves from his dresser.

"Why?" Shadow exclaims, holding his arms out. He didn't understand why Sonic was so mad. They were doing just fine...

"The fact that you have to ask only ticks me off more," Sonic mutters out, putting the gloves on and flexing his hands to see that they fit perfectly.

Shadow glares at him, not understanding and finding this petty. "I can't read your mind, Faker. Like hell if I know what you're thinking half the time. I don't know _why_ me taking off my inhibitors means anything to you."

Sonic turns to face him angrily. "Of course you don't, because you never think of anyone but yourself!"

_That_ cuts a cord in him. The black and red hedgehog takes two steps forward and slams the other back into the dresser, trapping him with one arm on his right side, the other holding down on his chest. Sonic glares up at him, despite the light blush that covers his muzzle.

"What? Are you mad because I'm right?" he taunts, his fur looking a shade darker.

Maybe before, the ebony hog thinks in aggravation. "I'm sorry I didn't explain to you how I spent two damn weeks thinking about no one except _you_, because getting kidnapped seems to be becoming a hobby of yours."

Okay, maybe he didn't need to be _that_ harsh. Sonic's eyes widen and his face reddens brightly, before he punches Shadow in the arm again, this time harder. "Like I _wanted_ to be kidnapped?! Do you have _any_ idea what Eggman-?!" Sonic catches himself, both he and Shadow freezing at his words. He didn't _have_ to finish his sentence. Shadow felt something hot build in his throat. The fear that flashed in Sonic's eyes only made it grow.

"What did he do?" he asks, making Sonic flinch and look away, ears pinning back.

"That doesn't matter!" he huffs, pushing on Shadow to try and budge him away. "Don't change the subject!"

"I _don't_ understand what you're getting upset over," the Light Chaos Born growls out.

The Dark Chaos Born glares back up at him. "You, you idiot! How could you _not_ understand?! You can't just watch someone you care about fall to their death and not freak out when they go to do it again!"

Shadow freezes, enough for Sonic to push him back roughly and put some distance between them.

"Do you have any idea how hard it was to watch you fall?!" the blue hedgehog continues, something in him completely snapped. "I tried to save you but you wouldn't let me! All you did was hug me, thank me, say _sayornara, _then Chaos Control me back to the ARK! Then I had to go back there and tell everyone you were dead!" Shadow feels stiff as the hero goes on. "Then when you _do_ come back, you don't even remember me and suddenly hate me again! Do you think that's easy?!"

So that's why. Sonic was just afraid of Shadow dying or losing his memory as Shadow himself was. That's…that had to be why he got him the camera. They both shared that fear, but the question is...why?

"No," Shadow answers quietly, "but I can't see you getting that upset over me. Maybe one of your friends, _maybe_, but not me."

Sonic's eyes widen, before he grabs his head in frustration. "You _are _my friend, Shadow!"

He couldn't believe that, no matter how much he wanted to. "Maybe I don't remember something from before my fall, but as far as I do, there was no reason for us to be friends."

Sonic's arms fall to his sides, and he just…stares blankly, looking as if something had sucked all the life out of him.

"Oh."

That's it?

"Okay," the hero murmurs. "Y-Yeah, okay. I knew that."

"Knew what?" Shadow snaps, trying to wrap his head around this.

"Nothing," the hedgehog snaps back. "You're right, absolutely nothing for us to be friends over. Sorry I wasted my time trying to be your friend. There's _no reason_ to be, after all."

Shadow feels like he's missing something really important, but he can't figure out what it is. He watches Sonic grab his socks and shoes, ready to put them on to leave.

To leave…

_"No matter what happens, don't let him leave without apologizing."_

He's got deja vu again, and he knows he's got to do it now. There was no more time. He walks over to Sonic, making the hedgehog glare at him, and grabs his clothes from his hands and throws them away from them.

"Shadow, what are you-?!"

He stops him by picking him up and laying him on the bed, crawling over him and holding him down.

"Shadow!"

The black hedgehog leans down and kisses him, pushing the hero's head back into the blankets and flattening his quills. Sonic glares up at him, and Shadow stares blankly back.

Pulling away, he rests their foreheads together, not breaking eye contact.

"I'm sorry," he says quietly.

Sonic's eyes widen. He stares up at him in confusion, opening his mouth to question it.

"You know what for," Shadow stops him with a sigh. He reaches under his mate and lifts him up, so Sonic is straddling him again, back pressed to the wall. Shadow feels his guilt start to resurface to his throat, knowing this wasn't going to be easy.

He could feel it though. He had to do this _now_.

Sonic is quiet, a scowl on his pinkened face, narrowed eyes studying him carefully. Shadow figures he's waiting on him to talk.

"I'm sorry for what I did to you," he elaborates, and he feels his heart pounding, making him almost feel sick. "My energy was out of control, and I didn't care to stop it from being an excuse. I didn't _want_ to hurt you."

Sonic's lips pull down, his eyes shaking slightly. "...but you _did."_

"I didn't," Shadow corrects him defensively. "I was angry, yes, but I would never go out of my way to hurt you, especially like that. I let myself be angry, and my energy used me to do what it wanted. I swear that on Maria's name."

The hero's face softens some, and Sonic looks away, thinking hard. "I'm… I'm not…" he stops, taking in a deep breath and getting his head together. "I'm not mad over it anymore."

Shadow's ears fold to the sides, his brows furrowing in confusion. "I wouldn't think you weren't."

Sonic shrugs. "I'm sorry, too. I should have just told you about the bond when you asked, instead of throwing a fit because I didn't want to give my life up. I was a brat."

Shadow can't help but agree internally, but only just a little bit. "That isn't an excuse for what I did."

"No, it isn't," Sonic mumbles, "but if I hadn't been stupid about it you wouldn't have been mad. We were both used by our energy."

Shadow thinks back to what Omega had said about the synthetic energy in his body. He wonders if that's what had caused it in the first place. Still…

They're both quiet, neither really knowing what to say. Shadow feels better somewhat, but what if Sonic didn't forgive him? What then?

"I…" he starts, starting to feel worried. "I _am_ sorry."

Sonic meets his eyes, studying him again. An ability that came natural to Dark Chaos Born was sensing lies, and even if they didn't understand it, they both knew it. Sonic knew he was being honest, so if he didn't forgive him…

"Thank you," Sonic murmurs softly, looking away. "I really didn't expect you to apologize."

"I don't expect you to forgive me," Shadow admits, because there really was no point in not being honest.

The hero hums, leaning his head back against the wall. "I didn't expect to hear you say you'd never go out of your way to hurt me. I thought that's what you wanted."

Shadow frowns, raising a brow. "Why would I want that?"

Sonic looks back at him, just as puzzled. "Becauuuse…you hate me?" He says it as if it's obvious.

Shadow internally wonders if Sonic is more emotionally disabled than him. "I have no reason to hate you, Sonic. You have every reason to hate me."

Sonic quirks an ear at him, looking even more confused. "Why? Just because you're an asshole doesn't mean I hate you. I _like_ being around you."

The black hedgehog just stares. There was no way on Mobius that he was hearing this correctly. "You told me you hated me," he says, voice unreadable. Sonic raises a brow.

"You raped me, what did you expect?"

He finches at the accusation but finally understands something. Of course Sonic never hated him. Sonic was too good for that. He was always trying to be friendly, always trying to hang out with him, make him smile, joke with him, no matter how mean Shadow was in return.

"I don't understand why you call me a friend when all I've done is hurt you," he says out loud, then his eyes widen as he realizes he said that out loud.

Sonic looks taken aback, too, not expecting such an honest statement. "You…" the hero starts, before sighing. "I thought you remembered everything," he explains quietly. "When I first saw you again after your fall, I didn't realize you had lost your memory. We fought, you ran off, and there was too much going on for me to even know that." Shadow listens intently as he continues. "Then after you got your memory back I thought you had recovered everything, until just now when you said you didn't remember."

There _were_ white splotches in his memories of the ARK battle. Things he couldn't recall no matter how hard he tried.

"I thought for a minute that you were just being a dick, but reading your energy now, I can see you just really don't remember," the blue male concludes.

Shadow processes this slowly. "So…something _did_ happen?" he asks, watching Sonic flush lightly. What was with _that_ reaction?

"Uhhh...yeah," the hero admits, face turning even redder, a tiny, embarrassed smile forming on his muzzle.

Shadow's eyes narrow sharply. What memory did he lose?

"You really don't remember?" Sonic asks now, tilting his head.

"No, but I want to _now_," the biohog replies a bit salty.

Sonic's small smile turns into a bigger one, the blue hedgehog covering his face with his hands and laughing dryly.

"I'm _so_ dumb."

"Sonic," Shadow pushes, grabbing the hero's wrists and pulling his hands away from his face. _"What_ don't I remember?"

Sonic's smile wobbles as if he's trying to hide it. "I don't want to _tell_ you! You have to remember yourself!"

Shadow gives him a tired look. "Sonic, the doctor erased my memory himself. He most likely permanently-"

They both freeze up.

"He didn't want you to remember," Sonic says quietly. Shadow sighs.

"It appears I have some _research_ to do…"

Sonic smiles. "Then I have no hard feelings over anything."

Shadow looks at him in surprise. "You don't?"

"No!" the hero chirps contently. "I thought you were just being an asshole this whole time on purpose."

Shadow's brows furrow. "I was."

Sonic frowns. "Well, kind of, but… Oh," he pauses, tilting his head again. "You seemed fine for a while. Why did you start being mean again?"

Shadow feels his stomach drop. Back then he hadn't realized it. He didn't want to feel anything that reminded him of Maria, and that's all Sonic ever made him feel. Pushing him away, he now realises, was the stupidest thing he did.

"I...can't say," he decides to answer, not able to lie because Sonic would know.

The hero frowns. "Why?"

"Tell me that memory and I'll tell you why," the striped hedgehog replies, knowing Sonic would give up here.

The blue male does, his face reddening and the topic dropping abruptly.

They sit in silence, both remembering that it was late at night and wondering if they had been too loud and woken up Rouge.

Shadow stares at the blue hero in his lap, feeling a strange, warm feeling in his wrists. He thinks back on Silver's warning, and the fact that if he hadn't listened, Sonic would have left and things would be bad between them again. Another thought crosses his mind, then.

"You were going to leave when you're about to go into heat?" the ebony hedgehog asks, making Sonic blush darkly and fidget in his lap.

"I was mad," Sonic shrugs, looking away. "I didn't think about it."

"I would have had to chase you down," Shadow says, reaching for Sonic's muzzle and turning his head back to see his face.

Sonic frowns back. "We would have fought again."

He knows what the hero is thinking. "I wouldn't have forced you," he assures, his hand moving behind the hero to pull him closer. They rest their foreheads together and Sonic sighs.

"I believe you."

They both go quiet again, sitting in silence and brooding to themselves over their extremely needed conversation. It's only after a few minutes of silence that they both sense Sonic's heat about to start, and the blue male is suddenly trying to sit up, eyes wide.

"C-Crap," he stammers out, and Shadow takes that initiative to grab him and lay him back down on the bed. He looks uncomfortable, almost worried, and Shadow can't fight the smirk that grows from it.

"W-What?" Sonic huffs out, ears folding back.

"You'd think you'd be over this by now," Shadow comments, sounding a little snarky. Sonic raises a brow.

"Over what?" he asks quickly, obviously offended. The older male chuckles, not replying but spreading Sonic's legs open, making the hedgehog's mouth fall open and his ears turn red.

They both knew what Shadow was talking about…Sonic was too shy and flustered over this, making Shadow wonder if it was because of what happened their first time.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he says softly in one of Sonic's blue ears, making the hero flush in embarrassment.

"I know," he pants out in return. "I'm just…not used to this."

They meet eyes, and Shadow can see the hero's frustration in his hazy eyes. He understood.

"Then let's get you use to it," he says with a smirk, watching Sonic shudder and completely melt at his words.

"Y-You smug bastard..."

* * *

_"Ahhnn…" _he pants out, squeezing the sheets in his fingers and burying his face into the bed, trying to muffle out any other sounds that happen to escape him. Shadow pulls him back up with a strong arm, pressing their bodies together tightly. The only regret he had with Sonic being on all fours and himself bent over him, was that it was harder to see his face.

He keeps Sonic's back against his front, pulling back and rocking deeply into him, making the blue male shake and whimper uncontrollably. Maybe it was because they weren't mad at each other, but this was feeling better than it normally did, and both hedgehogs felt it.

That was also why he was going slow, the first reason just being his own curiosity. He wanted to see what would happen if he took his time; if he let Sonic completely break apart in his arms.

_"Mmn!" _Sonic cries out as he thrusts forward a bit rougher this time, but still just as tantalizingly slow. _"Shadow…"_

The black hedgehog pulls back most of - not all - the way back, feeling his chest tighten at the call of his name. He wants to hear it again, and so he drives himself forward, all the way back in the trembling body below him, making Sonic arch in his hold and babble out a list of incoherent words, Shadow's name falling out along with them a few times.

"What's that?" he questions, making Sonic shudder against him.

"J-Just h-hurry," the Dark Chaos Born whimpers out.

Shadow reaches around him, feeling for the others hard, dripping length, taking it into his hand and pumping roughly as he pulls out and thrusts back in again.

_"Ahf-f-fuck," _Sonic gasps, starting to squirm in his hold. "Shadow, p-_please~!" _His voice broke as he was thrusted into again, and his hands started grabbing at Shadow's in desperation. _"Just h-hurry."_

The biohog decides to pull out all the way this time, making the blue hero beneath him groan in distress. Shadow presses a kiss into his shoulder, before turning him around and on his back.

Sonic was a hot mess, fur ruffled and damp with sweat, his quills out of place and sticking up oddly in some places. His face, his chest, and his ears were red, his eyes glossy, and his lips wet. Shadow felt so sadistic leaning over him, a part of him wanting to grab and fuck Sonic until they both passed out, then wake up and do it all over again.

Well...it _was _their mating season.

He lets Sonic notice him staring, and the hero glares darkly up at him.

"Shadow," the younger growls, grabbing him by the chest fur and tugging him down. Shadow meets his mouth halfway, taking it over with his tongue and sharp fangs. He readies the others body, lifting it up to meet his own, and thrusts back in _hard._

_"Ah-!" _Sonic shouts, sitting up quickly, bending in Shadow's hold as the other grabs him and pins him down.

No more games, the Ultimate Lifeform decides. He increases his pace, slowly, but gradually enough for Sonic to start losing it, arching his back and calling out, hands tangled in the sheets below him, blue legs shaking on either side of him. _"Fuck,"_ Shadow pants out, reaching a hand under Sonic's head and pulling him up and his head back, leaning down to latch on his throat with his tongue. Sonic's body spasms and he throws an arm over his mouth, his eyes squeezed shut as he cries out. Shadow thrusts in again and again, harder and harder every time, pushing them as slow as he can to that edge but building it up as high as he could.

_"Ahhah-!" _Sonic shouts, and Shadow leans up to press a kiss into his temple, then up to his eyebrow. _"Sha-! Shadow-!" _

"Hold it," the striped hedgehog whispers in his ear before nipping it lightly.

_"A-Ahh-! N-No-!"_

"Yes," Shadow argues, still in a whisper, and Sonic's body spasms again.

_"P-Please-!"_

Shadow nearly loses it there. He curses, only slightly faltering in his thrusts. "Not too fast," he's able to get out, and Sonic makes a high pitched whine in response.

_"Sh-Shadow y-yes now!"_

He's angry, and Shadow loves it.

"Alright then," he chuckles huskily, and he focuses back on Sonic's neck again, one hand going to hero's dick, and the other one pulling him up at a dangerous angle, and all it took were two hard thrusts and Sonic is _screaming _so loud there was no way Rouge _didn't_ hear them.

* * *

"Rough night?"

Sonic glares tiredly at the bat, who grinned lovingly at him from the other side of the kitchen table.

The news was on, showing the damage of G.U.N. HQ and the story behind it. They of course had caught him on camera in his dark form, and were talking excitedly about him controlling it and how amazing he was and blah blah blah. He had tuned it out with the thought of having to go home now because his friends obviously knew at this point that he was with G.U.N…. Well…not G.U.N. but Shadow and Rouge.

...and sometimes Omega, who was currently sitting next to a wall outlet charging in sleep mode.

Shadow was making coffee, something the blue hedgehog had learned was a guilty pleasure of his. Rouge mentioned how it became Shadow's back up when he was low on Chaos energy and couldn't sleep. After pouring himself a cup, the biohog takes it and grabs a plate of toast from the counter and walks over to the table to join them. He puts the plate next to Sonic who takes it eagerly, and sits in the chair in between the two.

"Did you guys get crazy deja vu yesterday?" Rouge asks then, making Shadow spit out his drink and Sonic choke on his toast. The bat laughs loudly at their reactions, while they grab napkins and straighten themselves out.

"I'm guessing we all had deja vu yesterday...?" Sonic rasps out, his throat dry from choking on toast.

Rouge is smiling as she takes in their flushed faces and Sonic's response. "Things _did_ get crazy yesterday," she comments. "I'm happy you're back in one piece, Blue."

Sonic makes a small smile. "Yeah, me too. I don't know if I'm ready to go home, though."

"Come with us to meet up with Towers," the bat offers, looking over at Shadow to see his opinion. The black hedgehog shrugs and nods.

They look at him expectantly. Omega beeps awake and earns his attention, the robot turning to him to add his opinion.

"YOU SHOULD COME WITH US."

Rouge laughs and Shadow raises a brow at his robot friend, and Sonic smiles and chuckles.

"Okay, I'll go."

* * *

**Notes-**

_This chapter was extremely hard on us. We would get a thousand words out, not like it, erase it and then start over. We finally settled it here, and there's a good reason why. This chapter is reeeeally important, so we had to write it just right. _

_It's a little late because we added a scene, and we didn't have time to fully beta, but we will probably clean it up later. It's fine as it is now._

_Demons is next on the update list!_

_Love you guys!_

_-Anoni_


	17. Sixteen - The Interrogation

**Notes-**

_Surprise! If you didn't see on our Twitter, we promised this along with Dare the Truth today, and here it is! Two updates in a day! Aren't we impressive?_

_...and we're starting with smut? I know, you're welcome._

* * *

**Chapter 16 - The Interrogation**

_"Mmhmmp! Ahha-yes there!"_

Shadow curses, putting a hand over Sonic's mouth. The hero was faced against the shower wall, hands uselessly gripping the wet plastic, Shadow fucking up into him from behind. They needed to hurry...no doubt Rouge and Omega were waiting for them. He thrusts up at a particular angle and Sonic bends in his hold, letting out a low, strangled moan.

Shower water rained relentlessly on them but neither cared. The soap on their bodies had run out minutes ago, but they didn't even think about it.

Sonic reaches behind him, whimpering for Shadow, and the biohog grabs his hand and slams it into the wall, pinning it there and lacing their fingers.

He could literally do this forever. Eggman and the war be damned. He could just take Sonic somewhere far away and they could do this for the rest of their immortal lives and he would never get tired of it.

_"F-Fu~ck, Shadow!"_

He lost it before Sonic did, but all it took for the hero to fall over was to feel his mate spill inside of him and he broke instantly.

Shadow takes his time slowing down, resting his chin on the others shoulder and holding him tightly. Sonic always took longer to recover, his energy too unstable for him to control without struggle. Shadow focuses on that Dark Chaos energy and tries to help it settle with his own. It seemed to work, and eventually Sonic stopped shaking.

He presses a kiss into the side of the hero's muzzle and pulls out, making him whine uncomfortably. So much for a shower. The blue male practically collapses into him, and Shadow hugs him close, burying his face into the fur on the side of his head and breathing deeply. Sonic hums. "What did you do?" he asks sleepily.

Shadow pulls back, lifting Sonic's chin up with his thumb to capture his lips with his own. It's a short kiss, but he enjoys it deeply. They meet eyes, each taking a second to admire each other, both blushing lightly.

"I just used my energy on yours," the ebony hog answers softly. "I've done it before."

"When I went Dark," the hero murmurs. Shadow nods.

"Did it help?"

The hero gives him a tiny smile. "Yeah, a little."

Shadow nods, kissing the hedgehog's forehead, his cheek, down to his throat. Sonic purrs softly, wrapping his arms around Shadow's neck. "We need to go," he says, but he sounds as if he doesn't care.

"I know," Shadow doesn't care either.

A loud pounding on the bathroom door makes them both jump, Sonic letting out a tiny yelp.

_"You boys need to hurry it up in there; we gotta go!" _Rouge calls.

Shadow sighs and Sonic chuckles dryly.

* * *

"Sonic the Hedgehog," Abraham Towers greets tensely.

"Towers," Sonic tensely greets back with a tight smile.

He's never seen the two in the same room before, but now that he is, he's actually concerned.

"I heard a rumor you were missing," the G.U.N. Commander makes conversation, voice questioning. "Glad to see those were just rumors. We appreciate all your help yesterday."

Sonic's brows fly up, a bright, surprised smile on his face. Shadow can feel the hero's energy darken considerably, along with something akin to malice. He could tell his mate was about to say something dangerous.

"Heheh, wow!" the cobalt male exclaims, his voice somehow both friendly and threatening at the same time. "You're welcome, _Commander~! _For a second there I was still upset over the last meeting we had where you said Dark Sonic was a dangerous, obscene threat that needed to be taken care of!"

Shadow chokes on his laugh. Rouge can't smother hers in time and laughs loudly into the quiet office they were in. The group of three soldiers and Topaz all cover their mouths to hide their reactions, and Omega beeps, _very_ pleased.

Towers isn't impressed, and coughs into his fist, looking away. "It appears you've gained control over it, then."

"Don't worry," Sonic says sweetly, "I'm sure you'll just find another reason to arrest me and either make me do your bidding or throw me to your scientists again!"

_'Wait, what?' _Shadow thinks suddenly. What did he mean, _'again'_? What happened? What did he miss?

Sonic's ears swivel towards the black hedgehog and he glances at him from the corner of his eyes, a slightly confused frown on his muzzle. It's only for a quick second, however, as Towers recovers from the blow and glares in frustration at the Blue Blur.

"You again have my _deepest _apologies for any large_ misunderstandings, _Sonic," the man replies cooly.

The room was so tense it was as if the two leaders in power were aiming guns at each other, ready to squeeze the trigger at any moment. Shadow could feel the hatred Sonic felt for the Commander, and it was a deep, burning lust to rip the man's head from his shoulders and shred his body apart with his own hands. Some _things _have obviously happened between the two other than negative opinions on Dark Sonic.

There's a knock on the door, making some of the soldiers flinch. Towers sits back in his chair, eyes not leaving the scowling blue hedgehog in front of his desk. "Come in."

The door opens and a large man walks in, wearing a high ranking uniform. He shuts the door and doesn't look at anyone but the Commander, stoic as a rock.

"Sir, the Moebian refuses to answer us. He said he will only speak with Sonic the Hedgehog unsupervised."

Sonic laughs. "Did you try torturing him?"

The soldier looks highly uncomfortable now, despite being so serious. He looks at the Commander, who seems surprised at Sonic's question, but wants to know the same thing.

"Well?" Towers presses.

"We…attempted to, sir. I'm afraid that the Moebian is…" he pauses, very uneasy. "He is a _masochist, _sir. Interrogation is pointless."

Sonic laughs so hard he doubles over, as if to a joke only he understood. Towers pinches the skin between his eyes, sighing as Sonic wiped his tears of merit.

Rouge next to Shadow raises a brow, a smirk pulling her lips up. "We're learning a lot today, aren't we?" she asks him quietly. The biohog frowns deeply.

"I'll go with Sonic," he says, looking at the Commander with a face that said the matter was final. The older human rubs his temples.

"Very well, but I expect detailed reports from _all _of Team Dark immediately afterwards."

Shadow scowls and Rouge groans loudly, wiping her face with both hands in exasperation. Omega only shrugs, never writing reports anyway.

The soldier nods, turning to open the door for them. "I will take you to where we put him."

Sonic and Rouge wave at each other as he leaves, followed by Shadow. The soldier shuts the door behind them and guides them down the hall. The two hedgehogs fall in step beside each other, Sonic lacing his fingers behind his head as they walked.

"I didn't know you had so many problems with the Commander," Shadow states, in a way the soldier in front of them would know to mind his own business.

"Oh yeah, I despise that guy," Sonic speaks boldly. "I might not _fully_ believe in murder, but maybe one day, I'll get him."

The soldier walks faster. Shadow can't stop his own eyes from widening slightly. He _needed_ to know what had happened.

They're quiet for the rest of the way there, only stopping once they arrived.

"Are there cameras in there?" Sonic asks as the soldier pulls out his card key. "Any voice recording equipment?"

The soldier pauses. "No, since he would only talk if there wasn't."

"Mm, okay," Sonic hums, giving Shadow a bored, half lidded look as the man turned around. The biohog understood.

The door opens for them and the soldier steps back. "Just call when you are finished," he explains.

The two walk in and the door shuts and locks. Scourge was restrained with metal cuffs from his wrists and ankles to a metal chair that's bolted to the ground. He looks up as they walk in and grins.

"You brought Stripes," he coos dramatically.

Sonic, ignoring him, looks at Shadow. "Get rid of them," he says curtly, and the biohog nods, putting a hand on the wall and letting his energy sorch through it all the way around, destroying the hidden cameras and voice recorders in the walls. There's one under Scourge's chair and it pops as it's fried, making the Anti jump in his seat.

"Your ability to sense lies is very useful," Shadow says in almost a complementing tone, taking Sonic aback but making him smile.

"I'm really starting to get the hang of this Dark Chaos stuff," he hums.

"Only because of me," Shadow smirks boldly, and Sonic rolls his eyes.

"Can you two _not_ start flirting in front of me?" Scourge interrupts. "I might projectile vomit all over the place."

The two heroes glare at him in disgust, making him grin.

"What are you even doing?" Sonic asks, sounding like a tired parent. "Why go back to Eggman? I told you we could have helped you."

"Blue," Scourge starts with a dramatic sigh. "If I did, the moment that Egg-fuck learned I went with you I would have went boom!"

"What is he talking about?" Shadow asks, looking at Sonic and crossing his arms. Sonic makes an "oh" expression.

"I forgot I didn't tell you anything yet," he says thoughtfully. "Eggman blackmailed Scourge with a bomb. He was wearing this thing on his wrist that would blow up if he didn't listen."

Shadow's brows furrow at the green hedgehog. "So you could have told me you had him sooner?"

Scourge shrugs, smirking. "I _could_ have…but I could have been caught, too."

"Like your life matters," Shadow growls out.

"At least I'm not a rapist!" the Anti laughs loudly.

Shadow visibly flinches and Sonic scowls, giving his counterpart a warning glare.

"That's really not any of your business," the blue male says lowly. "We've settled things."

"That sounds like Stockholm, baby," Scourge grins at him. "The only reason you two are acting all friendly with each other is because you don't have a choice. You can't tell me you're okay with what he did."

Shadow clenches his fists but remains quiet. Sonic's quills bristle slightly.

"I said it's none of your business," the hero snaps. "Our energy was corrupted from the start, that's all it was. It was just a bad situation."

"I dunno, Blue, it kind of became my business once Egghead and I watched you two fuck in his old base," he chuckles.

Shadow's arms fall to his sides and he quickly looks at Sonic, who looked back at him guiltily for not telling him.

"There...were cameras…" the blue hog mumbles out with pink cheeks. "That's how Eggman knows."

Shadow clenches his jaw. Of course Eggman knew.

"You two might as well just come out of the closet, already," Scourge leans back shrugging. "Everyone's gonna find out if _he_ knows."

Sonic pales and Shadow glares at the Moebian. "Tell us what he's planning," he growls.

Scourge smirks. "Only if _you_ leave."

Sonic looks at the green male with suspicion, and Shadow's brows furrow. "I'm not leaving him with you."

Scourge tilts his head. "Why not? Afraid I'm gonna show him a better time than you can?"

_"Scourge-"_ Sonic starts, trying to cut him off.

_"Again," _the green hedgehog adds confidently.

The room goes silent. The implication was obvious. Sonic looks away as Shadow's eyes fall on him.

"See Stripes," Scourge continues on. "Despite how badly everyone thinks of me, I would never fuck someone against their will, _especially _Blue. I love him too much, and that shit makes me sick. You on the other hand…"

"That's _enough," _Sonic stops him this time, his patience completely gone. "Just tell us what Eggman is planning, and I won't call Zonic and hand you to him on a silver platter."

The mention of the Zone Cop Commander does the job, and the green moebian listens. "Okay, geeze, Blue," he huffs out. "Can you at least bail me out of here after?"

"Why on Mobius would I do that?" Sonic deadpans. Scourge smiles as innocently as he can, which isn't very innocent with his sharp fangs.

"Beeecaaauuuuse I can help?" the hedgehog offers, making Sonic only glare.

"You can help plenty right now," the hero states, voice lower. "What is Eggman planning and where is he hiding?"

Scourge stares at him for a minute, debating in his head on his options. There weren't many, to be honest.

"Okay, fine," he sighs, "but I pretty much know as much as I've already told ya. Egghead wants you to give up your Chaos Energy so he can kill you. He's trying to piss you both off so you give up."

Shadow's eyes widen and he looks at his mate, who frowns and looks down.

"To be fair, I kind of agree with him," the green hedgehog continues. "You can give up your immortality and then you won't be stuck with Stripes forever. He can use the emeralds too, right? Have _him_ do all the work. He owes you for what he did, anyway."

Shadow turns a dark expression to the green Anti, wanting to strangle him.

"That's…my decision," Sonic sighs out. "I don't know what I want to do yet. Eggman isn't the one that's going to affect my choice."

Shadow can hear the underlying message in Sonic's words. It was up to _Shadow_ on what Sonic did.

"You'd seriously consider staying with this douchebag?" Scourge asks with a frown. "He's hardly any more trustworthy than me, Blue. Hell, I'd trust Eggman more than him. I technically did."

Sonic shakes his head. "Then why'd you give me to Shadow and not Eggman?"

Scourge stops, realizing his mistake.

"I said it was my decision," Sonic continues. "Shadow's not any guiltier than I am, and I told you we've settled things. When I think of being immortal, I think of being able to protect my friends, but having to watch them all grow old and die. When I think of giving it up, I wonder if the world will survive without me…" he stops, glancing at Shadow again, before looking back at Scourge. "I just don't know what I want right now. I still have some time, but for now I'm just focusing on finding Eggman and stopping him."

Scourge studies him, as if trying to find any more answers in the hero's eyes. There were none.

"Fine," the moebian mutters. "The doctor's base is up in the mountains of the Great Forest. He's got two Chaos Emeralds, and is probably planning on moving them soon."

This news makes both hedgehogs perk up and look at each other.

"One for the Resistance," Sonic hums, "the other to appease your dictator boss."

Shadow nods. "It'll shut him up, at least. I can probably convince him to allow me to keep it."

"Just tell him _I_ said for you to keep it," the blue hero shrugs with a small smile. "I'd like to see him try and complain."

"I still stand on my point, Blue," Scourge speaks up. "You don't always have to be the hero. When are you going to start caring about yourself?"

Sonic flinches, but gives him a threatening look. "Maybe the day you start caring for anyone but yourself."

"I care about you, don't I?" the green hog asks, mocking hurt in his voice. Sonic can only give him a tired smirk.

"I _am_ you, dipshit."

* * *

"I got deja vu again," Sonic says as they leave the room. The soldier outside doesn't acknowledge them as he and a few more soldiers go in the room. "I feel like I've had that conversation before but it went way different this time."

As they walk, Shadow thinks back to his dream with Silver and his own deja vu. It definitely was not a coincidence. Silver did something that was now affecting how things were going, but he didn't understand why or how.

"Shadow?"

They stop in the middle of the empty hallway and Shadow meets his mate's eyes. Sonic is searching him for answers and he knows he has to tell him.

"We'll talk about it later," he decides to say, making Sonic aware of the fact that they shouldn't talk here. He decides to change the subject. "What are you going to do now?"

Sonic's eyes reflect understandment, and he looks away, shrugging. "I can't hold off going home any longer. They're probably mad."

His friends, Shadow thinks. "The Commander is going to come up with a plan and send us after the emerald immediately."

Sonic nods. "Yeah, I'll come up with a plan with Sally. We can meet you guys while we're there for a 'coincidental' team up."

Sally...Shadow almost forgot about his mate's ex-girlfriend. Thinking of her brought back their conversation with Scourge, and he frowns, looking away.

"Hey," Sonic says, taking a step towards him and lightly pushing his shoulder. "We'll talk later. I think I have about four hours until, you know..."

Shadow nods, getting the message. "I'll see you then."

"Sonic?"

Both hedgehogs turn to see Tails, Sally, Bunnie, and Nicole, quickly approaching them from down the hall. Sonic feels his heart race. He was _not_ ready to see these guys yet.

Tails is the first to break into a run, throwing himself into his brother's arms. "Where were you?!" he exclaims. Sonic catches him, chuckling nervously.

"I uhhh, ran into Scourge," he gets out, making his other friends look at him in shock. "Sorry I haven't called."

"Sonic, you've been gone for two weeks!" Sally says in disbelief. "We thought Eggman had captured you again."

"Has it really been two weeks?" Sonic asks softly in surprise. "I…" he looks over at Shadow, who is surprised Sonic didn't know. "I didn't realize that much time went by."

"Did Scourge kidnap you?" Nicole asks, earning a tiny, guilty smile.

"Y-Yeah. Shadow rescued me, though," he says, turning his smile to the Ultimate Lifeform. Shadow looks away, feeling his face heat up.

"He doesn't know about Knuckles," Bunnie says gently, making the friends pause nervously.

"What about Knuckles?" Sonic quickly asks, sensing the bad news about to come his way.

"Eggman…" Tails starts hesitantly, "...invaded Angel Island. Knuckles and the Master Emerald have been taken."

Sonic freezes.

_"What?!"_

* * *

_"That insufferable welp of a hedgehog!"_

Orbot looks over at Cubot, both nervous as they watch their master throw another set of papers across the room.

"Who does he think he is?!" the doctor screams, pulling his mustache in frustration. "That time-traveling idiot! I should have killed him when I had the chance!"

"U-Um, boss," Orbot starts hesitantly. "We should evacuate before Sonic and Shadow get here."

"No!" Eggman exclaims, kicking his chair. "I will _not_ deviate from the plan! We are going to wait and fight!" He takes a moment to calm himself, taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly. "I've already been set back enough. I will send Metal after that annoying hedgehog. It should be enough to stall him until I've come up with a way to get rid of him permanently. For now," he starts, sitting in his chair and looking at his two robots with a grin. "...let's get ready. We're going to have aspecial guest arriving soon, and I need to make sure this meeting goes smoothly."

* * *

He was only able to steal one last look from Sonic before the hedgehog was dragged off by his friends. Watching them take him after spending two weeks searching for him, apologizing, mending the broken pieces of their friendship...it made him angry. Possessive. He didn't want them to take Sonic away. He was tired of having to be separated from him.

Then he realizes what he's thinking and feeling and can't believe it.

Scourge's words sliced through his heart as he thought over them. He had almost forgotten that Sonic was considering giving up his Chaos energy to be a normal mobian, all so that they could break the bond.

That's what they wanted, after all, right? To somehow break the bond?

He feels nauseous.

He also remembers he needs to do some questioning.

He eventually makes his way to the Commander's office and walks right in. Towers, who is sitting at his desk, isn't fazed, as if Shadow was always barging in as if rules didn't matter to him.

They didn't.

"What did you do to Sonic?" the Ultimate Lifeform questions before the human can even look at him.

Towers seems a little surprised by the question, meeting Shadow's furious red eyes and leaning back in his seat. "There was a misunderstanding between us sometime ago," he says cautiously. "Why are you concerned?"

"He mentioned something about 'scientists,'" the biohog growls. "What did you do?"

Towers goes quiet. Shadow feels his blood boil. He could only imagine why Towers would hand Sonic over to _scientists _of all things.

When he receives no answer, his temper snaps. "Well?!"

The Commander sighs.

"Back when the doctor released you from Prison Island, no one knew you would be a mobian hedgehog, Shadow," the man explains. "From the poor quality footage we had, with it being the only evidence, we assumed Sonic was the one causing trouble."

"Because of his power," Shadow states angrily. "You were waiting for any excuse to take to capture him."

"You've seen the destruction of Dark Sonic yourself," Towers replies, just as irritated. "Sonic's power is unmatched, and if he decided to destroy the world he most certainly can. The moment we assumed he had turned we sent out the warrants. We cannot jeopardize the world for one hedgehog."

"That hedgehog is the only reason the world is here. I believe he has a right to do whatever he wants with it, based on the human's view of power," Shadow smirks darkly. "I'm sure you know he wants you dead."

The man frowns. "I'm well aware of what Sonic thinks of me. I'm not sure why you're concerned if it doesn't involve you."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Shadow exclaims bitterly. "Do you seriously think I don't believe that you have special weapons and cells waiting for Sonic and I because we're the biggest threats on this planet? That what you do to him means nothing to me? If he decided he wanted to destroy the world then I would, too." Towers is tense as Shadow continues, his voice darkening considerably. "Now tell me," he growls. "What. Did. You. Do. To. Sonic?!"

* * *

Sally gives the blue male a worried look. The hero was sitting in a wooden chair, holding his head, brooding over the news.

When they arrived back in Mobotropolis, Sonic expressed his desire to not meet with anyone else, and he and Sally went straight to the office they shared when they were discussing important plans.

"I can't believe he took Knuckles," the hedgehog murmured. "If I had been here…"

"There's nothing you could have done," Sally assures him, sitting in the chair across from him. "If you hadn't been in the city, it would have been destroyed. You can't be in two places at once, no matter how fast you are."

Sonic sits back, stretching his legs out and staring at the ceiling with a smirk. "I'm sure I could. I've never tried."

She smiles at him, taking in his appearance. He looked a little ragged and rough and was probably exhausted from the past two weeks. He looked good, though.

"We'll find Knuckles," she says with a small smile. "He's tough. I'm sure he's already working on breaking out himself."

"I hope so. I wonder if Eggman is keeping him in the same base as the emerald?" the hero thinks out loud. "Do you think he's that dumb?"

"Maybe," the girl shrugs, resting her chin in her hands. "I'm curious to see what this base looks like. You said he's only got one emerald?"

Sonic tries not to feel anything as he lies. "Yeah. No doubt G.U.N. will want it, too."

He couldn't tell her there were two emeralds. She would ask why he wants to give one to Shadow, and he would have to make an even bigger lie. All he could do was hope she didn't find out.

"Do you think Scourge was telling the truth?" she asks.

The green hog _hadn't_ been lying, but he can't tell her that he knew for sure.

"I don't know. It's Scourge so who does? He _is_ mad at Eggman for blackmailing him, so he probably wants us to get revenge for him."

He sits up and meets Sally's questioning eyes. The girl studies him carefully. "What is his plan? Why have Scourge kidnap you?"

Sonic simply shrugs. "Beats me."

Sally hums and looks away. "You know I want to tell you that you need to be more careful."

Sonic feels his face redden and he smiles sheepishly. "I'm surprised you haven't yet. I was at least expecting Tails to hound me."

"You're tired and need rest first," Sally tells him with a sly smile. "You're still in trouble."

The hedgehog chuckles, running a hand through his quills. "Yeah, I figured." Getting back to the important topic at hand, he gets a little more serious. "We need to look at that base."

The princess nods. "Yes, and we need a thorough plan, a very quick one. No doubt Eggman is planning to move."

"So is G.U.N.," Sonic reminds her. "Towers wants that emerald, too."

"Well, we'll just have to be faster then," she smirks, and he smirks back.

"Now you're talking my language."

She smiles at him. "I am happy you're okay, Sonic. We were all so worried about you."

He looks away, hiding his flush. "I've been through worse at this point. I'll be okay."

She sighs and stands, walking around him to stand behind his chair, putting her hands on his shoulders. "That's what concerns me. You've been through a lot lately."

He goes quiet as she massages his shoulders. Any other time he would have melted happily, but now he couldn't help but think of Shadow.

Was he really starting to fall for him? He looks up at Sally above him and her stern look fades into a loving one. She leans forward and presses a kiss on his forehead. He closes his eyes, butterflies going crazy in his stomach.

Love was too fucking difficult.

As she pulls away, they meet eyes again, and suddenly he's debating on if he and Shadow were actually _'together' _or if Scourge was right…that they were only together because they had to be. As he looks up at Sally and notices her hair is getting longer (she was growing it out for him, he knew), that her eyes were a lot softer than they use to be, and that instead of hate in her words she spoke warmly to him, he was reminded of how much he loved her.

She was powerful, she was cunning, she was smart and could plan for nearly any situation. She was always standing up to him, always pushing his buttons, but it was because she loved him, too.

"Sonic," she starts, voice just above a whisper.

He acts on impulse, like he always does, and reaches up, putting a hand behind her neck and pulling her down into a kiss.

_'What am I doing?'_

She kisses him back, just as rough as he is. Her scent and her taste overflow his senses, but something is off.

_'Would Shadow be mad?'_

Somehow she ends up on his lap, her hands in his quills and his in her hair. One of her hands snakes to his chest as their lips continue to press together.

_'We're not together...he's just a friend and a rival and this is a difficult situation.'_

He ends up pushing her on the desk nearby and she pulls him closer. His hands rake down her body and she pants his name. He feels his energy become shaky and remembers his heat, thinks of Shadow, thinks of Shadow kissing him and fu-

_'I need to stop.'_

A loud knocking racks on the office doors, making them both jump and pull apart. Their eyes are wide and their faces are red, and Sonic realizes somehow in the moment Sally's vest was unzipped…

She notices too and quickly fixes herself up, the knocking on the door repeating.

"Sally?" a male voice calls, and their eyes shrink. It's her _father._

_"Go," _she whispers, pushing him towards the window. _"I forgot I was suppose to talk with him about everything."_

Sonic chuckles under his breath, climbing halfway through the window. _"We'll make the plan tomorrow, then," _he whispers back.

She leans forward and steals one more kiss from him. _"Yes, now go."_

He pulls away with a red face and salutes her, before turning and jumping down the castle walls.

He feels his energy heat up and he huffs shakily. The fact that he couldn't kiss Sally and _not_ think about Shadow only proved his thoughts right.

If he didn't give up his immortality, didn't give up his bond, he couldn't be with her. If he did, he couldn't be with Shadow...and for some reason that thought made him feel sick.

As he sneaks out of Mobotropolis to head to Central City, he knows he can't hide the fact anymore.

He really _was_ falling for Shadow.

* * *

"They what-?!"

Rouge looks over his shoulder at the laptop, and Shadow opens the file folder, taking a sip of his coffee and staring blankly at the screen.

"After they arrested him, they took him to the closest base to interrogate him," he explains quietly, clicking on a video file. "The people that were in charge of the interrogation tortured him. They handed him over to scientists, and eventually Sonic went Dark and took down half of the base."

"Chaos," Rouge breathes. "This is the footage?"

Shadow puts his cup down.

"Yes."

Black and white footage of Sonic being dragged by his quills down a hallway, kicking and fighting the six people holding him. They had put some kind of cloth over his mouth to keep him from biting and shouting. They carry him into a room and put him on a table.

Rouge reaches forward and pauses the video.

"Shadow?"

He looks pale. Seeing this couldn't be easy on him; he knew what it was like to have scientists do terrible things to him.

"I'm going to kill them," he says quietly.

She believes him. "What did Towers say?"

"He didn't order them to do that, but Sonic blames him," the biohog sighs, rubbing his face with a hand. "I blame him."

She pets the top of his head in between his ears. "You love Sonic, don't you?"

Shadow doesn't respond immediately. Rouge tilts her head, pulling a chair up to sit next to him.

"I want to protect him," he says quietly.

The bat smiles warmly. "That's love, sweetheart. I honestly think you've always adored him, but are just now realizing it."

He looks at her in confusion. "Always? I don't understand."

Rouge raises a brow. "Back when you kidnapped him and hid him on the ARK?"

Shadow stares.

"Oh my god…" the girl puts a hand over her mouth. "You don't remember…"

"What?! Tell me!" he exclaims suddenly.

Rouge's eyes widen. "You really don't remember?"

"No-!" he huffs in frustration. "The doctor erased my memories after he found me. I don't remember most of the interaction I had with Sonic, and he won't tell me."

Rouge grabs her head. "Ahhh! I should have asked! Why didn't I ask what you remembered?" She sighs loudly. "That's awful. I'm sorry, Shadow. You and Sonic kept what you did a secret, but I can tell you what _I_ know."

He closes the laptop. "Everything."

* * *

**Notes-**

_These boys are going through some shit, but don't worry, they're going through more pretty soon. How mad are some of you about that Sonally scene I snuck in? You can't complain; you already knew he was in love with her :')_

_Don't forget to fav, follow, kudos, bookmark, and leave a comment~! We __**really**__ love reading your reactions, and seeing those numbers go up lets us know to keep going and that you want more. It's the very source of our power, the cure to writer's block. If you wanna chat about our stories and other stuff, or even just talk about Sonadow in general, reach out to us on Twitter! We don't bite! (unless you want us to-)_

_Expect Demons next update!_

_Love, Anoni_


	18. 17 - Bonding

**Notes-**

_Okay just a heads up - there's gonna be a __**lot**_ _of smut and fluffy times with these two boys, so don't read this in public. These two nutheads deserve it after their latest accomplishments. Also more Chaos Born science in here. _

_You're welcome._

* * *

**Chapter 17 - Bonding**

Sonic arrived with an hour to spare. He thinks, at least. His heats were starting to happen more frequently and heavier. He read before that sometimes they can be constant, and he could just always be in heat. He flushes, hoping he doesn't get that bad.

Rouge was cleaning up the kitchen as he walked in. She looks up at him in surprise, then smiles brightly. "Hey, Big Blue. Back so soon?"

He could sense worry from her with his energy. "Yeah, is he here?"

Her smile grows. She puts her chin in her hands and beams at him. "Mmhm! He's showering though. You gonna join him?"

Sonic's face reddens and he looks away. "No, I can wait. I _am _early."

"You two are _so_ cute," Rouge drawls happily. "I'm so proud of you two for getting along so well! Maybe you don't _have_ to give up your immortality."

Sonic crosses his arms, frowning at her. "I haven't decided yet."

"Oh, come _on,"_ the white bat groans. "You two are falling over your feet for each other. What would you do if he asked you out?"

Sonic's eyes widen and his ears turn pink. "I-I can't see him doing that."

"Why not?" Rouge taunts, raising a brow. The hedgehog fidgets under her stare.

"I doubt he even likes me to begin with; he's made that clear before," he says quietly, looking away. "Many times."

Rouge frowns. "That's because he's stupid. He doesn't understand emotions very well, or…at least how to express them." She watches the hero look down, listening deeply to her. "He's always adored you, I just think you remind him of a _certain_ _someone_ and it freaks him out."

Sonic's eyes widen and he looks at her in shock. He knew exactly who she was talking about. Puzzle pieces seem to click together in his brain, and he looks away, thinking.

"He asked me what happened on the ARK," she says, walking to stand in front of him, making him shrink back. "I told him what I knew."

Sonic's mouth falls open. "Why would you… I don't want anyone telling him!"

She puts her hands on her hips, studying him carefully. "I told him he fought you at Prison Island, then he grabbed you and took us both back to the ARK…"

Sonic grits his teeth as she continues.

"Then I told him he took you and hid you somewhere, and started disappearing and stalling the mission. When I found where he was keeping you, you were in one of the resting quarters, locked in a room. I told him you didn't tell me what happened."

Sonic is _very_ red, from his ears to his cheeks and his chest. "I wanted him to remember on his own," he says dryly.

The bat smirks. "Did you two _fuck _on the ARK?"

Sonic couldn't get any redder. _"Why _would you assume that?!"

"Look at your face!" the girl exclaims excitedly, reaching for his cheeks. Sonic backs away, pressed into a wall by his insane friend. "There's _no_ way you _didn't!"_

"I-I d-don't need to tell you anything!" the hedgehog huffs out. "Stop making assumptions!"

"So wait a minute," the bat thinks out loud. "You and Shadow have slept together before, so _that night_ hadn't been your first time together," she watches him flinch and look away, and knows the truth. "That means," her voice lowers teasingly, and she leans closer to pin him to the wall. His ears flatten as she grins at him. "You and Shadow fell in love with each other, then when he lost his memory, you were too scared and traumatized to tell him, so you've kept it a secret all this time."

Sonic looks down, unable to deny it.

"Y-Yeah. He just…seemed to permanently hate me, so I just…"

Rouge gives him a pitiful look. "You could have told me. I've been there for you for your other heartbreaks."

He shrugs. "I didn't want you to tell him."

"You're still scared," she tells him boldly, making him frown. "So...do you still have feelings for him?"

His face is still red, and his ears fall back.

"I don't know."

"What do you mean, _you don't know?"_ the bat asks with a smirk. "These walls aren't thick, Big Blue. When you're in the moment, you _sound_ like you know."

Sonic scowls at her. "Why are we friends?"

She bats her eyelashes at him. "Because we're too alike."

"Get off of him," Shadow's voice calls from his bedroom doorway, and they both look over at him, Sonic turning an entire shade darker. The black hedgehog was leaning in the doorway, not wearing _anything, _holding his towel from showering while drying his ears.

If his nose started bleeding he'd shoot himself, Sonic decided.

Rouge of course _doesn't _do as she's told, and only pulls Sonic close to her, practically smothering his face into her chest. Sonic's angry shout is muffled. "Or what?" the bat purrs, making Shadow glare intensely. "Maybe I wanna see what the _Fastest Thing Alive _can do~" Her smile stretches across her face as she watches Shadow's red eyes become _very _destructive.

_"Rouge," _the biohog all but growls.

Sonic pushes them apart and she lets him.

Then she looks at him in surprise.

"Your nose is bleeding!"

He feels all the blood drain from his head. He looks at Shadow, not even caring to wipe the red trail falling down his muzzle.

"Give me your gun. We can see if I'm really immortal or not."

Rouge screams with laughter at Shadow's mortified expression.

* * *

The biohog was gentle as he wiped the hero's nose and muzzle with a warm, damp washcloth, standing between blue legs where their owner sat on the edge of the bathroom counter.

"You heard everything, didn't you," Sonic asks softly.

"I did," Shadow responds just as quietly. "I _do_ want to recover these memories I've lost."

Sonic blushes. "Are you mad I never told you?"

"You still, technically, haven't," the ebony hero points out, "but no, I am not."

He puts the washcloth in the sink and looks back directly into green eyes, making Sonic flinch and look away.

"I'll tell you anything you want to know," the blue male murmurs.

"I only have a few questions," Shadow tells him quietly. "Why didn't you tell me? Was she right?"

Sonic swallows and nods. "Yeah, I can admit that. Like I said, when I first saw you again, I had no idea your memory was gone. We were all hunting Eggman and the fight with Metal Sonic happened…" He sighs, avoiding Shadow's stare. "I thought you just decided you hated me, or that you blamed me for you falling-"

_"Why_ would I blame _you_?" Shadow cuts him off, reaching for his chin and tilting it up so Sonic is forced to look at him. "I saved you myself. I would never blame you for that." The hero bites his lip. Shadow takes a moment to admire how _delicate _he looks, before asking; "Did you blame yourself?"

"Y-Yeah," Sonic mumbles.

He can feel how quick Sonic's heart is beating with his hand lightly over his throat. He can feel how anxious he is through their energy, and how strong his next heat was about to be, and that it was going to happen _very _soon.

"Why? Why blame yourself?" he asks, Sonic swallowing nervously.

"I wasn't fast enough to catch you," the hero murmurs. "It should have been me, or I should have fallen with you."

Shadow feels his heart trip over itself. Why would Sonic think that? Then again, he still didn't know how _close _they had gotten before he fell.

"You should have accepted it," the biohog sighs, his thumb pulling on the others slightly flushed lips, "but I can understand at least why you were angry when we met again."

The blue male looks down, and Shadow's hand cups the side of his muzzle. "I'm still kinda mad," Sonic admits.

"I believe it," Shadow sighs. "I should have went to you, but I thought I recovered everything. Black Doom didn't help matters at all."

"I don't blame you for not remembering," Sonic tells him, meeting his eyes again. "I'm just mad you kept pushing me away, even if I only wanted to be your friend."

Rouge basically told Sonic the reason for that already, but he needed to say it himself.

"Everytime I look at you, I think of Maria," he says, his voice holding a lot more emotion than he planned. Sonic's eyes widen, but he lets Shadow continue. "I was torn over having to remember that I had failed her every time I looked at you. Pushing you away was all I could do to smother it."

Sonic's ears flatten, a look of betrayal falling over him. "You could have _said_ something," he says, his voice cracking. He's upset. "I'm not her, Shadow."

It cuts through him like a knife. "I know."

"Is _that _why you saved me?" the hedgehog asks, his voice growing its edge. "Because of her?"

"No," Shadow replies faster than he would like to admit. "Sonic, I may not remember what happened between us, but I remember the final battle. I saved you because I _wanted_ to save _you_. Your friends and the world needed you. I wouldn't have been missed."

_Oh, wait-fuck…_

"Really?" Sonic hisses, pulling away, his back pressed against the mirror behind him.

"That's not," Shadow sighs, rubbing a hand over his eyes. "I'm not trying to upset you." This was frustratingly difficult.

Sonic glares at him. "You basically called me no one, and what happened on the ARK nothing."

"It's hard when I don't remember," the biohog admits. "I don't think of you or the time we spent together as _nothing, _Sonic. I'm angry I don't remember. I saved you because I wanted you to live. I know it may upset you, but your life is worth far more than mine."

Sonic goes quiet, looking down with a flush.

"You can argue that all you want," Shadow adds, "but it'll only make us fight. You're _far_ too selfless."

"You didn't think our friendship was worth getting over your pain," Sonic counters, meeting his eyes dead straight.

Shadow freezes up.

He was right. He ruined their friendship, treated Sonic like absolute shit, and by the time they bonded…

All because he didn't want to feel the pain of Maria. All because he _really liked _Sonic and didn't have the balls to face him head on.

Maria would have hit him over the head.

Sonic was worth just as much as her. He didn't deserve to be labelled a certain way just because he was very similar to her. Sonic was there to fill in the hole she had left behind in his heart, but Shadow simply buried him in return.

"I'm sorry," he says, and this time _his _voice cracks.

Sonic's glare fades, a tired frown replacing it. He doesn't say anything.

"She would be just as mad at me as you are," the Ultimate Lifeform sighs, looking down, leaning his hands on the counter. "I shouldn't have compared you two. I shouldn't have been the way I was with you. I'm truly sorry."

Sonic is quiet for a second, before leaning forward and resting his forehead against Shadow's.

"I believe you."

Shadow reaches up, grabbing either side of the hero's face and leaning in to kiss him. Sonic makes a surprised sound, but rests into the kiss, wrapping his arms over his mate's shoulders.

After they pull apart, Sonic flushes and looks down.

"Do...you want me to tell you what happened on the ARK?"

Shadow thinks about it. This was an opportunity to find out, but…

"I want to question the doctor and get my memories back myself," Shadow says softly. "I want to see it with my own eyes."

Sonic's flush deepens. "I-I get it. You're always looking for the answers yourself."

Shadow smiles for a brief moment, and Sonic turns warm from it. That smile disappears slowly as Shadow reaches up and messages a blue ear. That gets Sonic warm in a _different _way and he fights to contain his heat. "I can see why the doctor would want to keep us apart," the biohog says quietly.

Sonic blinks then, slammed hard into realization.

"Because we're both too strong, especially if we're together," Sonic says, voice light in shock. "That's why he's trying to get at least one of us and piss me off."

"Hm," Shadow replies quietly. "The scrolls _do_ say that if we get along our powers will get stronger. You can now sense lies, and I can track you wherever you are."

"If we get too strong Eggman won't stand a chance..." Sonic then suddenly looks up at him with large eyes, his brain processing something. "You can _track me?!"_

Shadow can't help but smirk at his reaction. "I can. I might not know your exact location, but I can feel your energy no matter where you are and follow it to you. Scourge interfered with it with his Anarchy Beryl, which is why I couldn't find you."

Sonic stared. "That's why…? I…know you always just seemed to appear out of nowhere, but I didn't think you could _actually _track me. I didn't think when he had me why you hadn't found us yet; he didn't say."

Shadow frowns, remembering that bastard and his words from earlier. "Of course he didn't," he mutters. The moebian would want to make Shadow look as bad as possible to his prime counterpart. He's then reminded of something he's needed to ask, and when he looks at Sonic, the hedgehog pales. He knows before Shadow even says it.

"Did he take you?" Shadow asks quietly. Sonic looks away quickly.

"W-What do you mean? I-I was kidnapped…"

_"Sonic," _Shadow whispers darkly, grabbing his chin and lifting it up again. Sonic tenses. "Did he _take _you?"

"Ahh…" Sonic panics out. "B-By 'take' y-you m-mean-"

Shadow's eyes narrow. Sonic's ears fall back.

It takes a few more tense seconds for the hero to spill.

"Y-Yeah," he admits.

He had known it before, but needed to _hear _it, to confirm it with Sonic himself.

It still didn't stop him from feeling anger, regret, jealousy, betrayal…and some deeper emotion he didn't understand yet. Sonic can most definitely sense these emotions, and his guilt skyrockets.

"I...didn't know what to do," the hero starts quickly. "I was in heat, and I just…c-couldn't take it. He offered to help with his energy and I…" Sonic pulls back and looks away quickly. "I didn't think you would care because we weren't getting along and we didn't want the bond anyway." He sneaks a glance at Shadow from the corner of his eye, his fingers tightening their hold on the counter edge. "It's...not like we're…"

That hurts more than Shadow feels he is capable of understanding. Again, Scourge's words repeat in his head...

They were only together because they had to be.

_"We've settled things."_

_"That sounds like Stockholm, baby."_

...but the ARK… They were together before, right? Did they have a chance?

He wished he remembered.

He tries to, but the memory simply doesn't exist. He can tell something is _missing, _though. He needed to know what happened so he can figure out what to do _now_.

_'I need those memories,' _he thinks.

Sonic's mouth drops open, his ears flying up. "Holy Chaos!" he exclaims in shock. "It happened again!"

The striped hog raises a brow. "What happened?"

Sonic stares at him, before flushing darkly and looking away. "N-Nevermind. I don't know for sure, I might just be crazy."

Shadow frowns. "You _are_ crazy."

The blue male blinks at him, his blue ears perking forward in interest, not expecting such a reply. Shadow thinks it's cute.

Sonic's face turns scarlet.

"U-umm…" the now flustered hedgehog starts uneasily. How to tell him? Would he get freaked out or mad? Or maybe it can go both ways, he suddenly wonders. He focuses his hectic mind, and looks directly at the confused Ultimate Lifeform, thinking as hard as he can while focusing on their bond.

_'I can hear your thoughts through the link.'_

Shadow's eyes widen.

No…

"It worked-?!" Sonic exclaims at his reaction.

Wait a minute… Shadow thinks back to when they were in the Commander's office, when Sonic was snapping on the old human. He had a strong, weird sense then, too, and Sonic had looked momentarily confused.

"That's interesting," he comments. "I wonder why it happens on its own."

Sonic shrugs. "I don't know, but I thought I was losing my head."

Shadow watches as Sonic locks eyes with him, then as the hero becomes flustered again.

"You have some _very _perverted thoughts," he says.

Shadow slowly processes these words, replaying them about four times again in his head.

Sonic watches him, kind of nervous for spitting that out there.

"So you've been hearing my thoughts for a while now…" Shadow murmurs lowly, reaching behind Sonic and snaking a hand through his quills. Sonic goes stiff and shudders, a breathy moan escaping him as Shadow massages between the large spines. "Do you want to share what you've heard?"

Sonic's lips quiver, and he starts shaking lightly. "Uh-hmm, I...I don't remember _everything."_

Shadow leans closer, pulling Sonic to him so he can hover over his right ear. "What _do _you remember, _Sonic?"_

He knows Sonic likes it when he says his name, and just on cue, the hero shudders and takes in a sharp breath. The air in the bathroom was getting sweet, Sonic seconds away from going into heat.

Their serious conversations would have to wait.

He has a feeling he knows exactly what set of thoughts Sonic had accidentally heard.

He tilts Sonic's head up again. The hero's eyes were darkened, his breath catching in his throat every so often.

"Tell me," Shadow whispers. If Sonic didn't want to, he had a backup plan.

The blue male looked like he was ready to crumble. "I-I...don't...think I know," he tries weakly.

"I think you do," Shadow counters. "Do you remember reading about 'Orders?'" he asks, making Sonic's eyes widen. "We haven't tried that yet."

"Th-that's because it's stupid!" his flustered mate exclaims.

"I think it would be useful," the biohog replies evenly. "All I have to do is say that it's an Order, and you'll have to do what I say. If you don't, your energy will put you into heat until you do what you were told." Shadow leans over him, spreading his legs open and lifting them up. "If you break an order," he continues, watching as Sonic slowly falls apart beneath him. "...I get to _punish_ you."

He grinds their hips together and the blue hero breaks. _"Ahhn!"_

This was going to be a good one, Shadow thinks.

"N-No Orders," Sonic pants out. "Please."

Shadow smirks. Sonic didn't have much room to lay on the counter. His quills were flat against his head, the lithe form trapped between Shadow's hips and the mirror on the wall above him. "What if I Ordered you to tell me what thoughts you heard?"

Sonic's eyes widen. "Th-that's… Y-You shouldn't… You can't just…"

Shadow trails his left hand down, tracing where blue thighs met his hips, along the crease, down around them, thumb sneaking over a hidden pocket. "Tell me, Sonic, what thoughts you heard," he says warmly. Sonic shakes his head, mouthing "no."

"That's an Order."

A dark wisp of energy passes Sonic's lips and he gasps. They could both feel their energy snap and click together, creating a lock over the Order. It was an odd feeling, but it made them both feel warm and buzzy, and as Sonic lost his mind, Shadow melted.

They were probably going to die, the Ultimate Lifeform thinks, making sure to keep his thoughts to himself this time.

_"Shadow!" _Sonic exclaims, voice high pitched with panic. A hard shiver crawls through him then, making him groan and tremble in the biohog's hold.

"Sonic," Shadow answers, massaging with his hand the area centered in between blue legs.

_"Oh f-fuck," _Sonic moans out, his hips shaking. "Shadow, I don't know if I can-_aahhh-hh!"_

His heat was going to destroy him if he didn't follow the Order. His body starts to spasm, and he squeezes his eyes shut, his hands curling into frustrated fists. A large tremor shakes him, and he whimpers out loudly.

_"Oh...oh...okay," _he pants out. _"P-Please, Sh-Shadow..."_

"Say it," his mate growls lightly into his ear, his hand moving lower, fingers prodding at a wet hole, but never entering.

_"I'm gonna die," _Sonic whines. Shadow blows into his ear, making him squirm and yip. "I-It was...It was y-your c-camera," he mumbles.

"What about my camera?" Shadow asks, pushing the tip of his finger in the hedgehog's tight but welcoming body. Sonic's mouth opens in a strangled moan.

The blue inhibitors on his wrists were slowly removed one at a time with Shadow's free hand, the rings not doing much at this point. Sonic watches through hazy eyes as Shadow unbuckles the white straps on his shoes, pulling one loose and letting it drop to the floor with a loud thud. Everything was so slow, it was agonizing. Another shiver wreaks his form, and Sonic moans out, trying to stifle the sound but failing. He feels another one coming and gets anxious.

_"Hnn… Y-You," _he tries, forcing himself to keep going, feeling the finger invading him beginning to move deeper. _"Ohh… Y-You w-wanted t-to...t-take a picture o-of m-me…"_

Shadow's smirk grows. "Did I? What kind of picture did I want to take of you?"

Sonic feels extremely hot all over, his mind quickly caving in on itself. This was it. This was how he was going to die. His ego and dignity were mostly gone by his point, and soon his mind and body would follow. Shadow hooks his finger _all _the way in, making the hero arch and cry out. Another tremor follows and he gasps, fists slamming into the countertop. _"Shadow!"_

"Answer the question," the other replies smoothly. He works off the rest of Sonic's clothing, adding a second finger as he does. He jerks them up hard, into a spot he knows too well, making Sonic scream and claw at him needily.

_"AH! Hah! Ahh-Shadow-please!"_

Shadow presses a kiss into the side of his mate's muzzle, spreading his fingers and curling them, working the shaking hedgehog into a mess. Sonic's tip still hadn't revealed itself, making it apparent the hero was holding back some still.

That would change soon.

"I'm getting _impatient, _Sonic," Shadow growls into his ear.

Sonic can only whimper out in return.

"What do I want a picture of?"

Sonic pants out loudly. _"Ah-! M-Me…"_

Shadow chuckles. "What of you?"

Black fingers brush against something _hot, _and an _ungodly _tremor bolts through his body. Sonic pushes himself up, being stopped by Shadow's hand, head falling back and a loud, surprised wail leaving him.

_"Sha-Shadow-!"_

It almost takes Shadow a second to realize that had _not _been Sonic's prostate, but something directly above it almost hidden, very, _very _hot to the touch. There was so much Chaos energy in it...Dark Chaos energy, and Shadow pieces together something he had read before in the scrolls.

Every Chaos Born had a "Chaos Essence," the very source of their Chaos Born abilities and their lives. Depending on if one was Dark, Light, male, or female depended on where their essence was located. For Shadow, he was a Light male, so his essence was split in two and located in his wrists…which explained why his wrists got warm when he was with Sonic. Sonic, being a Dark male…

His was right _here_, and Shadow had _hit it._

It took him another moment to realize Sonic had orgasmed with it, the blue male now sputtering out whimpers and cries and moans, his fur a midnight blue and his hazy green eyes glowing. His quills that were stuck against the counter were trying to stand up, and there was a sticky mess in between his legs.

_'I fucked him into his Dark form,' _Shadow thinks in shock.

"I-I'm," Sonic whines out, his whole body shaking violently. "I-I'm g-g-gonna k-kill y-you…"

He had probably heard his thoughts.

Shadow chuckles, removing his fingers from Sonic's melted body.

All he receives is a flushed glare.

"I-I'm s-still…" he tries to say.

Shadow presses a kiss on his forehead. "I know. I'm going to move you to the bed."

He hooks an arm under Sonic's legs, lifting him up with his other arm. He carries him out of the bathroom and lays him down on the bed, turning on the lamp on his nightstand. "Give me two minutes," he says, making Sonic groan in irritation.

He returns to the bathroom, leaving Sonic there to curl up on his side, body still shaking and very hot in between his legs. He can feel his essence throbbing, and his heat starts picking up again quickly. A sudden, harsh spasm shakes him and he groans out.

Shadow actually made an _Order. _They were going to have to lay down some rules about Orders. He had a feeling Shadow would never really _abuse_ that power; he was obviously still guilty over everything he has done and wouldn't Order Sonic to do anything he didn't want to.

Sonic sighs. Just another thing to add to his freakish list of Chaos Born things that he was starting to actually…

No, he was not ready to admit he liked the bond.

Not until his relationship with Shadow was mended completely.

...it was nice, he could let himself think. It was weird being taken care of and not being the one in charge. It was…relieving.

His mind then thought it would be a good idea to put Sally's image into his head.

...he needs to tell Shadow, he thinks nervously. The Ultimate Lifeform wasn't happy about him sleeping with Scourge, even though there was a liable excuse behind it, but what about Sally?

Sonic pushes himself up, his head going fuzzy for a second, his body still in shock from what had gone on in the bathroom, and the fact that he still hasn't answered the Order.

As Shadow walks out of the bathroom with towels and washcloths, Sonic feels his emotions slingshot themselves into his throat. His mate must feel it, because as the ebony hog sets the towels on the bed he raises a brow at him.

"What's wrong?" the biohog asks, and Sonic suddenly feels really guilty. It wasn't like they were _together_, but they were still _bonded_. It wasn't right of him, even if he was just curious.

Shadow is quickly sitting down in front of him, reaching up a hand to hold the side of his face. "What is it?" he presses. Sonic takes in a shaky breath.

"I made out with Sally."

It takes Shadow a minute to process this. Sonic avoids his look, playing with the sheets under his hands nervously. When Shadow opens his mouth to say something, to question him, the hero cuts him off.

"I'm still in love with her," he says quickly. "I just…don't know what to do anymore."

He feels a little betrayed, and a mix of the negative emotions from before come back to him, and Shadow sighs, running a hand over his striped quills.

Sonic looks up at him and they meet eyes, the hero shrinking under his stare.

A thought comes to mind, and when Shadow speaks, his voice is a lot softer than Sonic expects. "Were you two together when you met me?"

Sonic blinks in shock at the question, not expecting it. Then again, Shadow was always looking for information, and he was probably trying to step back and look at the entirety of the situation, starting from the beginning.

"No," the blue male replies quietly. "We broke up because she was cheating on me. I wasn't with anyone at the time."

"Did you get back with her?" Shadow asks. Sonic frowns and looks away with a light blush.

"No. I went out with another girl that Tails was crushing on." At the others raised brow he adds: "She wasn't good for him and I rather him be mad at me then suffer from heartbreak."

"What happened with her?" is all Shadow asks. Sonic shrugs.

"Nothing much. I mean," he flushes, scratching behind one of his ears nervously. "We fooled around a little, but then she met Scourge…and then left to join his team."

Shadow scoffs, not sure why anyone would _want _to be with Scourge. Then the fact that Sonic has slept with now _two people_ other than him nails itself into his head, and he tries to not let it aggravate him as much as it does.

"Was there anyone else?" he asks, and Sonic shakes his head.

"No, well...I kind of crushed on Blaze, but with her being a princess of another dimension…" Sonic admits with a flustered grin. "I guess 'dark, broody, and powerful' is my type."

Shadow frowns, now subconsciously labeling Blaze as a rival. He would never work with her again.

"Why…are you asking?" Sonic murmurs quietly. "Are you mad about Sally?"

"Yes," Shadow responds without hesitance, making Sonic flinch. "...but not at you," he adds.

Sonic tilts his head, visibly confused. "What?"

"If I hadn't lost my memory," Shadow starts, making the hero's eyes widen, "we would have bonded no matter what."

Sonic understands what he's implying. Blushing, he looks down. "It's a messy situation," he mumbles.

Shadow stares at him, wondering where they would be if he had never fallen.

Hell, what had he been thinking?

Regret wasn't something he liked to feel. Sonic made him regret a lot.

"Will you give up your Chaos energy?" he asks then, watching the hero frown and pull on the sheets.

"I don't _know_, Shadow. I ask myself everyday what the right choice is," Sonic huffs, still refusing to meet his gaze. "I don't want to watch Tails or the others get old and die, but they could die anyway if I give up my powers and can't save them."

Shadow blinks, not expecting that answer. "It's not…because of the bond?"

Sonic shrugs weakly. "That's...another factor. I don't want to give up my freedom."

"I won't take it," Shadow cuts him off. Sonic finally looks up at him with surprise, and Shadow reaches forward to pull the other into his arms. "I've made a very large mistake. I don't intend to do it again."

Sonic flushes. Their noses are touching the way they're sitting. "Would you really want to spend all of eternity with _me?"_

Shadow stares into deep, scared emerald. Would he?

Sonic puts a hand over his mouth. "Don't answer that, not right now," he says in a strained whisper. "I need time to think about everything. I'm…" he stops himself from finishing. Shadow knows. He can feel it himself.

There was just too much uncertainty, and they needed time. He pulls Sonic's hand away from his mouth.

"Very well," the ebony hogs says softly. "I need to recover my memories anyway." Sonic relaxes some, letting Shadow press a kiss into his hand. _"However,"_ he adds, his voice low, making the blue male tense back up. "As long as we are bonded, you shouldn't pursue anything with her, or _anyone_ for that matter."

'Her' didn't have to be specified. Sonic can tell this is a threat, and nods shakily.

"Y-Yeah, I know. I won't do it again."

"No," Shadow huffs, pushing Sonic down on the bed and laying over him. _"You won't."_

Sonic turns red, reminded of his heat and unfinished Order. Shadow looming over him, pinning him against the bed, red eyes shamelessly trailing over his _entire_ body...is enough to make Sonic shiver and his devious, Dark Chaos mind to come up with many different, _pleasurable _ways this can end.

Shadow leans down, lips just slightly hovering above his own.

"Let's take care of your heat and rest. We can talk more after."

Sonic nods, a shaky hum his only capable response.

Then Shadow rolls their hips together and the very fine thread that was Sonic snaps.

* * *

"You know," Shadow whispers into his ear. "If you don't tell me those thoughts you heard, I may just have to go through with it."

Sonic swoons, throwing his head back and moaning lowly.

He was on his back, Shadow above him, hand on his dick and pumping the life out of him. The biohog was taking his time, and Sonic suspected they weren't getting _any_ sleep tonight.

Neither was Rouge, probably.

"S-Shadow," Sonic pants out. "I'm literally going to kill you…"

Shadow smirks sharply, ruby eyes narrowing. "Are you?"

Sonic glares at him, his emerald eyes glowing. Then, his expression softens into a warm, almost scary smile, his eyelids falling halfway. Shadow frowns.

Sonic leans up and bites the tip of his nose.

He _doesn't let go._

_"Sonic!" _Shadow snaps, his hands flying up, one grabbing the hedgehog's blue quills, his other one bracing on the bed. They lock eyes, and Sonic his grinning through his teeth like an idiot.

If Shadow tries to pull him away, he could _lose his damn nose. _Were Sonic's teeth always this sharp?

His eyes were stinging in annoyance. He scowls at his mate, ears pinning back.

"Let go," he growls. _"Now."_

Sonic didn't. He was too happy with himself.

Well, Shadow thinks. His head was low enough, and Sonic's body was _super _flexible. He could always…

He gets a hand underneath him and lifts that blue body up, risking the painful tug on his nose to completely take Sonic's tip into his mouth.

_"Shadow!" _Sonic cries out, letting go immediately. Shadow grabs his shoulder and pins him down roughly, moving lower to take more of him into his mouth. Sonic spasms. _"A-Anhh! O-Oh gods..."_

Sonic was _really _in heat now. Shadow runs his left hand up a blue leg, down in between his legs, underneath his tail. Two of his fingers find what he's looking for and he thrusts up hard and quick, not easing him at all. Sonic shouts, covering his mouth with a shaky hand and sobbing.

Shadow decides it's time to destroy him.

* * *

_"Oh please, Shadowww…" _Sonic moans out, his back arching and his toes curling. The striped hedgehog pants in his ear, holding him as close as he can.

"You still…haven't answered my question…" he huffs, not pausing in the rough, constant thrust that seemed to drive Sonic absolutely crazy.

The hero whines in annoyance, before gasping sharply when Shadow comes too close to his essence for comfort. "Y-You," he groans irritably. "You w-wanted to...t-to take a picture of m-me while w-we're-_ahhh," _he sucks in his breath as Shadow's teeth find his neck, his hand down below doing _wonders _to certain areas. "W-While w-we're doing t-this…"

Shadow chuckles huskily against his throat. "That's all?"

"D-Don't push it, a-asshole."

* * *

_"Ohhhh I can't," _Sonic whimpers, his fingers tightening dangerously on sharp black quills.

"I can make you," Shadow huffs back into his ear, thrusting up and hitting his essence.

Sonic can't even scream.

* * *

"Oh! Speaking of your camera," Sonic remembers sleepily from the bed, watching Shadow throw towels across the room into a basket. "I stole a picture from you."

Shadow freezes, his head whipping to look back at him in shock. "What picture?"

Sonic smiles, laying back and closing his eyes. "The one of us."

Shadow stares at him, not sure how to feel about this. He feels like he should be mad, but also a little…_warm?_ Was warm an emotion? He didn't know.

He sighs and leans over his mate, pressing a kiss to his temple. Then he leans up to his ear and growls in a whisper: _"Return it."_

Sonic jumped at the sudden command, eyes flying open. He was definitely not expecting that answer.

As Shadow leans back up, hovering over him, the biohog smirks and adds; _"That's_ an Order."

Sonic gasps as his energy flips on itself, making him put the back of his hand over his mouth and shivering. "Y-You can't just…k-keep doing t-that," he mumbles lowly.

Shadow rests their foreheads together. "You're worried I'm going to abuse it?"

_"Yes," _Sonic answers bluntly.

"I swear on her name I won't," Shadow murmurs, pressing a kiss to his mate's nose. "I can even make an 'Oath' if you don't believe me."

An Oath was basically a promise to a Dark Chaos Born from its Master that could never be broken. It was a way to protect and keep balance. Sonic blinks in surprise.

"Would you really?"

Shadow nods. "Yes."

Sonic doesn't sense any lies, and this makes him relax and smile. "Okay then. I'll trust you for now."

Those words lodged themselves into Shadow's head, and he could feel his wrists glow from it. He leans forward and rests his chin in Sonic's neck, nuzzling there comfortably to sleep.

"We should get some sleep," he mumbles.

* * *

Rouge puts a hand on her right hip and smirks, turning the light on with her other hand. '_Couldn't those two be any quieter?'_ she thinks to herself as she grabs the bag of groceries off the ground and kicks the front door shut behind her. "At least they're finally getting along."

Walking into the kitchen behind the bar and putting the bag on the island counter, she makes herself useful by putting the food away, her ears flicking at the noises from Shadow's room. Didn't Sonic have a heat last night, too? She could always hear when they were taking care of "business," and they were going for a while last night. Now already this morning he was in heat again?

They seriously needed to get their own place, though, she thinks as well. She couldn't have guests spend the night upstairs because of risk they would hear the two bonded mates, and that was losing her money. As much as listening to them entertained her, her club came first.

This was the only place they could do this, though. Mobotropolis wasn't exactly private, especially for those two, and they couldn't risk having anyone and everyone find out their secret. They needed a cabin, or something in the woods, she thought. Something far away from everyone that only they could go to.

Although, she did enjoy the situation, so she couldn't complain _too _much.

Eventually the club gets quiet again, the two mostly spent. They were both going to drag ass today, she thought with a grin. Still, so many heats in such a short time was kind of concerning. She would need to talk to them about it.

Deciding to ruin their good morning, the bat walks to Shadow's door and bangs loudly on it with a fist.

"G.U.N., open up!" she calls in her toughest voice.

_"Shut the fuck up,"_ Shadow can be heard back, and she grins.

"We got big missions today, boys!" she exclaims happily. "You both gotta get up and move it!"

_"Rouge…" _Sonic can be heard groaning in exasperation.

Her grin widens, and she grabs the doorknob and shakes it. "Don't make me come in there and take some pictures of you two-"

_"Rouge!" _they both yell at the same time.

She laughs loudly, backing away from the door.

"Hedgehogs," she sighs with a smile, putting her hands on her hips. "Stubborn, stubborn, stubborn, stubborn…"

* * *

**Notes-**

_Okay, there wasn't supposed to be __**that**_ _much fluff and smut, but I suppose it was needed. The boys are finally bonding…_

_Did that last scene look familiar or what? Wonder what's going on here._

_More Bonds next week as well!_

_I'm really happy you guys are enjoying these stories! Bonds has come a long way, hasn't it? I can't believe we're almost at twenty chapters…_

_I've mentioned we might start posting updates on Tuesdays as well now, so two updates a week. That's not set in stone yet; we have to make sure we can handle it first. We'll see… This was kind of a test, so if we don't upload next Tuesday don't be surprised._

_See you guys again soon!_

_-Anoni_


	19. 18 - The Servant and the Master

***Warnings For Violence, Gore, and Death, Along With Slight Noncon Apply For This Chapter. Please consider all tags before reading.***

**Notes-**

_You read that warning and said O_ ? If you don't like senseless violence you can skip this entire chapter; you don't need to read it if you want to know what happens because they're going to talk about it._

_If you __**like **__violence and action packed fight scenes, you've come to the right place._

_There is a short noncon scene, but justice is rightfully served, __**so if you like to see bad things happen to bad people, I think you'll enjoy this chapter**__._

_*This chapter can kind of be considered a __**"season finale"**_ _because it's a huge turning point in the story, and a major character development chapter. It's also a very, very long chapter, so grab some snacks and get comfy, because it's going to be a wild ride.*_

_*Quick disclaimer: we do not own any of these characters, and we don't mean any harm towards the creators of these characters or the characters themselves. This is just a fanfiction, and we mean no disrespect by portraying them as we do with the roles they have, what they do in the story, what happens in the story, and we will not tolerate threats, attacks, or insults of any nature. If you want something to be upset by, go search SonicxEggman and read that. If you're into that sort of thing, good for you.*_

_Anyway, enjoy the longest chapter we've ever written._

_-Anoni_

* * *

**Bonds of Chaos**

**Chapter 18 - The **_**Servant**_ **and the **_**Master**_

"I can't believe he's taken Knuckles," Sonic sighs, slumping down into his seat and against the table.

"More importantly the Master Emerald," Rouge sighs dramatically. "That poor gem."

"You act like you're not obsessed with that echidna," Shadow mutters under his breath, sitting with his coffee in a chair next to his mate.

"She _does _talk about him a lot," Sonic adds with a grin. Shadow hides his smirk behind his cup.

"Make fun of me all you want, but look at _you_ two," Rouge teases, swaying her hips to one side as she smirks at them. The two hedgehogs blush and frown at her, and she laughs, turning to the stove to start cooking breakfast. "In all seriousness, with that said," she looks over her shoulder at Shadow. "I'm kicking you out."

Both hedgehogs look surprised.

"You're _what?" _Shadow asks lowly. Rouge smiles sweetly.

"I _know_ you have a place still. You can't keep staying here. Sonic is too loud to have guests spend the night."

Sonic turns red, his ears folding to their sides in embarrassment. "I'm _not _that loud."

Both Shadow and Rouge look blankly at him.

"I see," Shadow says back to her then, looking mildly annoyed. "The only problem is he can't Chaos Control while in heat."

Rouge frowns. "You could bring him there yourself with it, though?"

"No, he doesn't handle it well."

Sonic looks extremely flustered and distracts himself with the television. Rouge doesn't let the conversation drop yet. "Why not just run there? I know you're paranoid about G.U.N. or the doctor following you, but you can move at the speed of sound."

"I don't want to risk it," Shadow states firmly. "I have many reasons for not using my cabin."

So Shadow _did _have a cabin. Wasn't it by the ocean? Sonic frowns, trying to remember.

Rouge studies her friend with a frown. "So you're _not_ moving out?"

"Not yet," Shadow answers, voice firm to show his mind was made up.

The bat sighs. "Looks like you're gonna have to buy a gag."

Shadow almost chokes on his coffee again and Sonic flushes hard. The blue hero opens his mouth to angrily reply, but closes it because he doesn't know what to say. Shadow clears his throat.

"That won't be necessary. Open your club; I'll keep him quiet."

Rouge grins. "I hope so. You don't want all the people that come here to hear _Sonic the Hedgehog _screaming in one of my bedrooms-"

"Can you shut up?! What is your deal?!" Sonic exclaims. She laughs and Shadow raises a brow at him.

"What did you expect from her?"

Rouge smirks. "He's right, Big Blue. I'm like a terrible big sister."

Sonic rolls his eyes. "You can't call yourself my sister until you and Knuckles get married."

Shadow coughs into his hand, obviously trying to swallow his chuckle. Rouge's cheeks turn pink.

_"Married? _He better carve me a ring straight from the Master Emerald," she huffs.

Sonic gives her a look. "You _do _realize that if you marry him, you'll have an excuse to be around the emerald whenever you want, right?"

She pauses. Shadow sighs. "You've just sentenced your echidna friend to death," he says.

"He's the last of his kind," Sonic shrugs back. "If they get married, she can basically say they _share _the emerald, and Knuckles can repopulate the echidnas. It's a fair deal."

Shadow grins. Rouge turns red.

"Are you saying I should have _kids?!" _the bat exclaims.

Sonic smiles innocently. "If you get with Knuckles you better. Do you really want to see the echidnas go extinct?"

She frowns at him. "I could care less."

Sonic laughs. "I can sense lies with my Dark Chaos energy."

She pales then, and Shadow chuckles, watching in _high _amusement.

"You're kidding?" the girl frowns at him. When the two hedgehogs merely grin at her she sighs. "Well," she huffs. "If we're gonna talk about Dark Chaos energy and kids," she starts with a wicked smile, making them both tense. "Are we not going to bring up how Dark Chaos Born _males _can have children?"

Sonic turns white. "Wait, what?"

Shadow's brows furrow and he frowns at her, turning his cup around in his hands. "Where did you read that?"

"One of the scrolls," she answers cooly. "You two need to catch up on your reading."

Shadow looks at his mate, who is still very pale. _'Tell me she's lying,' _he thinks through the link. Sonic only looks at him with a worried frown.

"She's not," he answers.

Shadow goes stiff.

"You too haven't been using protection, have you?" she asks with a shit eating grin. They both glare at her.

"I still don't believe it," Shadow snaps at her. "What scroll did you read?"

"It's true," she simply smiles back at him. "Dark Chaos males can get pregnant. The reason is because Dark Chaos males could be with Light Males, and the Dark female population dwindled. They had to evolve and adapt to keep them all alive."

"Yeah, we can see how much good _that_ did them," Sonic mutters. "You know, considering they're all extinct."

"Except you two," she smiles back. "If you two had children with each other, they would be Chaos Born. You two would be responsible for remaking the entire Chaos Born race."

Both hedgehogs freeze up. Sonic turns red.

"That's…" he starts. "How would I even-? I'm not..."

"You can read the science of it yourselves," she shrugs. "I'm just stating facts."

"Even if it's true," Shadow sighs irritably, "the Chaos Born went extinct for a reason, and even if we do as you say, in order for the Chaos Born to continue to grow, they would have to mate and bond with each other. It would all be incest."

Rouge shrugs. "Hey, I'm just looking out for you two. Sonic could be preggo _right now."_

The blue hero stands up, hands on the table. "There is _no_ way!" He looks panicked.

Shadow also feels unnerved by this. "How would we even know?"

The bat smiles again, this time sweetly. "He can see a doctor or take a pregnancy test. Since I'm so nice, I can get a hold of some for you."

"Tests?" Sonic's voice is higher pitched than normal. Shadow can feel how worried he is through their link.

"Yeah, simple tests," Rouge says without context. "You two should be careful, though. Where females have obvious physical changes when they get pregnant, the only change a male goes through are wider hips. You two won't know until he's ready to pop."

Sonic looks like he's going to faint. Shadow motions for him to sit. "I doubt that's the only change, and I'm sure I would sense it if he was. All Chaos Born have their own signatures, and I would assume I would sense a new signature if he was carrying a child."

"True," the girl hums, "but you still have to be careful."

Sonic holds his head as he slumps into his seat. "Chaos Born are so complicated," he groans.

"You're an entirely different race of powerful, godlike beings," Rouge laughs. "Of course it's complicated." Turning back to their cooking breakfast she adds; "If it helps, he can _only _get pregnant if he's in heat."

"That doesn't help at all," Shadow deadpans. She chuckles.

"I also own a club with an unlimited amount of condoms," she adds with a smirk.

Shadow's face reddens at that, and she internally jumps for joy.

"We need to read more," Shadow mutters, turning to Sonic. "Especially since you're going into heat more often."

Sonic flushes and looks down. "We're going to that base today…"

They knew what he was saying. Rouge looks honestly a little worried now. "What if he goes into heat during the mission?" she asks.

Shadow scowls. "Then we'll just have to be prepared for it."

Sonic sighs tiredly. "What if I stay in heat, though? I've had three heats within the past twelve hours."

Rouge and Shadow exchange worried looks.

"It's gonna be a lot harder to hide this from everyone," the former says. "If you stay in heat, you won't be able to leave the club."

"That's a problem," Shadow huffs. "There has to be something we can do."

The bat girl sighs. "We should have told Knuckles. He could have helped."

...and now he was kidnapped and beyond their reach.

"I...doubt Eggman is keeping him in the same base with the emeralds," Sonic sighs. "We're just going to have to keep doing the research ourselves."

"A _lot_ of research," Shadow comments, the three of them all sharing the same, exhausted expression.

* * *

"Thought you were going to be late," Sally teases him with a smirk. Sonic chuckles, running a hand through his quills.

"I've been tired," he admits, and her look becomes worried.

"Will you be okay?" she asks, voice soft. Sonic flushes and looks out the office window.

"Yeah, of course. We should go over that plan."

Being alone in the same room with her was hard, but he told Shadow he wouldn't pursue anything with her, so he had to keep to his word. She doesn't seem to notice his anxious behavior, and he's at least grateful for that.

"You're right," she hums. "I think I've come up with something."

She turns on a small device and sets it on the desk. A map of the base appeared on a hologram in front of them.

"How'd you get this so fast?" Sonic asks in surprise. She gives him a half lidded, proud smile.

"I did something faster than you for once?" she asks playfully, making him blush and roll his eyes. "Tails made these drones back when Eggman kidnapped you. It's how we were able to rescue you." Her voice gets softer as she explains this, and he frowns.

"Tails is a smart kid," is his only reply.

He wants to change the topic, and she feels a little bad.

"I know G.U.N. is going to show up at some point," she decides to say. "I think Eggman also just picked up a new emerald, because he has two in the base now."

Sonic freezes. "Wh-What?"

Sally points to the map. "The drones can sense Chaos energy, and there's definitely two emeralds there."

Sonic curses internally. That means they were going to have to go against Team Dark and the rest of G.U.N., and Shadow needed at least one of those emeralds.

"There's going to be a fight over the emeralds," he says in a slightly warning tone. "You know Towers is going to send Team Dark."

Sally smirks. "We'll just have to get there first. It's not like G.U.N. _needs _the emeralds."

Any other time he would have agreed with her. He has to pretend to do so now, and he puts on his best smirk, if a bit shaky.

"Haha, that's true."

* * *

He can tell Sonic is nervous. He wonders if he's capable of sending him messages from so far away.

_'It's going to be fine,' _he thinks anyway, focusing on their link. He doesn't know if it works, but he hopes it does.

Then he turns red realizing he was wanting to comfort Sonic so much. Where did _that _want come from? When has he ever cared to say such a thing? Not since Maria, at least.

No, he couldn't think of Maria and Sonic at the same time. It wasn't fair to Sonic.

"You cool?" Rouge asks, stepping up to him from behind. "You're being melodramatic again."

He crosses his arms and leans against the wall of the helicopter. They were currently headed towards the Great Forest. It would take them longer to get there because they were a whole continent over.

To think that Sonic runs this all the time, Shadow frowns. Maybe he should start looking for him himself?

_'Wait, he likes to run-'_

"Shadow?" Rouge purrs, grinning at him as if she knew. "Thinking about someone? Your face is as red as your stripes."

He glares openly at her. "What do you want?" He wants to _think_, not be bothered by his batty friend who has already annoyed him enough today.

He was also embarrassed with himself for being so concerned for Sonic.

"I want to know what's going on in that big head of yours," she grins at him. "Watching you fall in love is _so_ fun."

She was lucky the pilot couldn't hear them, and it was just Team Dark in the helicopter.

The third member of their team decides to add his opinion, from where he's sitting checking through his weapons. "I AGREE THAT IT IS HIGHLY AMUSING."

Shadow glares at both of them. Why were they a team?

"You know it's funny if Omega's into it," Rouge smirks at him. She turns back to her edgy friend, who seems to be just about _done _with her. "Worried about your mate?"

Shadow wonders if throwing her out of the helicopter would rip her wings off. "No, now leave me alone."

Her eyes lower at him. "You're such a stubborn liar."

"THERE IS A ONE HUNDRED PERCENT PROBABILITY THAT HE IS WORRIED ABOUT SONIC."

Rouge laughs and Shadow shoots the robot a look. "Do you _want _to lose your head?"

"You've lost yours," Rouge laughs, dramatically wiping away her tears.

Omega beeps happily and Shadow sighs.

If this is what they call 'friends,' he decides he doesn't want any.

A small part of him wondered what Maria would think of the entire situation.

* * *

_'It's going to be fine.'_

Shadow's voice startled him out of thought. He was watching Sally explain the plan to everyone in the hall when he heard his voice. He didn't think the link worked _that_ far.

Maybe Shadow was close? He wished he had his tracking ability.

Although being able to sense lies was a fun new ability. He felt like a tiny devil on everyone's shoulders, basically hearing their every negative thought. He could feel it when someone was angry, annoyed, sad, scared, and for some reason it made him feel...energetic? He supposed it made sense if his Super form is powered by positive emotions and his Dark form is powered by negative emotions.

Well...they weren't _just _negative, but…stronger. Deeper emotions.

Even just standing in the meeting room full of people, he could tell what everyone was feeling and how strong it was, but the lighter feelings didn't mean anything to him. His eyes pass from Sally to Tails, who has looked back at him almost worriedly. Sonic tilts his head and Tails blinks, frowning.

He's asking what's wrong. The older the fox got the stronger his "brother sense" got.

Sonic just gives him a tiny smile, winking so fast no one but Tails would have seen it. This makes the fox relax a bit. All it takes is a smile.

"The biggest problems," Sally says then, "is G.U.N., and this Jackal Squad. We gotta get the emeralds before G.U.N., _and_ fight new people we've never seen before. Their leader, Zero, is apparently deadly with a sword."

_'Too bad I don't have Caliburn,' _Sonic smiles inwardly. Thankfully Nicole had given him a set of the energy ring blades Sally used. He was excited to use them.

"How many are in the Jackal Squad?" Rotor asks. "You said they're mercenaries?"

"Yes, although they've never worked for Eggman before," Sally explains with a small frown. "I'm not sure how many there are, we've just found out about them."

"I'm sure they're nothing," Sonic speaks up, waving them away. "Anyone who works for Egghead is usually in over their heads anyway."

"That's true," Tails smirks, and the two brothers bump fists.

"We need to try and avoid them as much as possible," Sally says then. "They'll only waste time."

Sonic smiles. Time was _exactly _what he wanted to waste.

_'Who's Caliburn?' _he suddenly hears, making him tense.

Shadow.

_'Are you nearby?' _Sonic thinks back, trying to hear both his friends continue their discussion and Shadow at the same time.

_'We passed Station Square just a moment ago. You won't have to stall for time.'_

Sonic feels sweat drop down his head.

_'You heard that?'_

He can _feel _Shadow smirk.

_'Payback.'_

* * *

"Jackal Squad?" Rouge questions as they walk around the grass, watching the soldiers set up the robots and camp. "Where did you hear that?"

"Somewhere," Shadow shrugs. "I just know."

Her brows furrow as she studies him. She hasn't seen Shadow using his communicator…

"We should get moving now," he then says, cutting off her thoughts. "We need to get ready before So-t-the Resistance gets here."

Her mouth drops open. Shadow turns around quickly, face turning red. _Big_ slip up.

"Sha_dow~_" Rouge calls lovingly from behind him.

"Not a word," he growls.

* * *

Eggman grins widely, clapping his hands together.

"Good afternoon gentlemen," he pauses, offering a courtesy bow to the one female, "and woman. I hope you are all ready for today?"

"You said we would know what our payment is by now," one of the jackals speaks up, voice low.

Eggman grins.

"Of course!" Turning, he presses a button on his computer, bringing up a camera image of the Resistance landing. The camera zooms in on Sonic the Hedgehog, the hero hopping off of a red biplane. Eggman turns to the jackals and smiles. "I contacted your group directly because I heard you were avid followers of the Chaos Born."

"We are," the same jackal states, "but not in the ways that you think."

The mad human's grin grows. "Oh, I'm very much aware of _what _your group does with the Chaos Born. What if I told you that this hedgehog here," his grin grows as he points to Sonic on the screen, "is a _Dark _Chaos Born?"

Their eyes widen.

"That's impossible!" one of the jackals exclaims.

"He uses the Light power of the emeralds," the first jackal growls. "To be able to use both forms is impossible."

"I have the data, and the proof," Eggman chuckles. "He is _my _nemesis, I would know." Turning to the screen, he opens another camera feed and shows them another hedgehog, one they didn't recognize. "This is his _bonded_ _mate_, the Ultimate Lifeform Shadow the Hedgehog, created by my grandfather himself."

The jackals go quiet. They share looks, all silently communicating with each other without a word.

Then the leader turns back to Eggman. "What did you say our reward would be?"

Eggman laughs. "I'll give you _Sonic_."

* * *

"Okay," Sally breathes out shakily. "This is a big base."

It was the biggest they've ever seen.

Sonic felt bile in his throat just looking at it. It was the size of Angel Island, at least. It was perfectly hidden in the tallest mountains on Mobius, up in the cold north of The Great Forest. It was a robot city, spewing so much oil and gas and fumes, red and black among the white snow. How did they miss this?

"The Master Emerald is here," he tells the princess. She looks back at him with wide eyes.

"This might be a lot harder than we thought," she murmurs.

"How did the drones not see this?" Tails questions dejectedly. "They only covered a _fifth_ of this!"

This…was actually a good thing, Sonic thinks.

"Sally, we might have to team up with G.U.N. for this one," he tells her. "Knuckles could be here."

Sally bites her lip, looking down. "Then we'll have to split the emeralds."

"I'll just have to get them first," Sonic sighs. They meet eyes. He expects her to disagree with him. She closes her eyes, and nods.

"Okay," she says with a breath. "Just be careful."

Sonic falters, unbelieving.

Antione coughs and makes a joke, and the two leaders flush and Sonic scowls.

"I'll go scout," he says, turning and running into the trees.

* * *

He sits in a crouch and takes a look at the base, watching the paths the robots took in and out.

"Is there a way in?"

Sonic smiles and looks back at the Ultimate Lifeform, who thought he had snuck up without him hearing. "You're supposed to say hi first."

Shadow ignores his comment, nodding towards the base. "Should have asked him how large the place was."

Sonic chuckles, looking at it himself. "Yeah, and the bastard probably knew it, too. He got us."

"You proposed a co-op?" the ebony hog asks, stating the reason for his arrival, watching Sonic stand up and stretch his arms above his head. The blue male was wearing a dark green coat that matched his eyes.

"Yeah. That way we can each get an emerald, although…" he adds, "the Master Emerald is definitely here, and Knuckles probably is too."

"Taking this base is impossible without more emeralds," Shadow tells him. "_Especially_ if it's being powered by the Master Emerald."

"I know, but…"

"We have to focus on getting the emeralds first."

Sonic gives him a slightly annoyed look. "What if it was _me_ in there? Would you be as calm as you are now?"

Shadow blinks in surprise at the question, seeing Sonic genuinely upset. "I…" he stops, realizing that no, he wouldn't be his calm. He'd want to storm in there head first, no plan and fists blazing. He sighs.

"You know acting that way isn't good, even if it's understandable," he says pointedly, making the other flinch. "I understand he's your friend, but you have to be smart about this. The doctor could easily hurt him."

Sonic looks down, ears falling. "Yeah, you're right… It just sucks. I know what it's like to be in his situation. I just hope Eggman isn't hurting him."

Shadow's expression softens. Something tells him to take one of Sonic's hands and he does, getting the hero to look up at him quickly. "I understand that feeling, too, but maybe if I had thought clearer in the beginning, you wouldn't have been stuck with Scourge for two weeks."

Sonic flushes, watching as Shadow presses a kiss into his palm with wide eyes. "Th-That's…"

"We'll rescue your friend," the ebony hog assures him, "but remember, he probably knows about our bond now."

Sonic's face pales, and he laughs dryly.

"Hahahhh…" he sighs. "Maybe we _can _wait to rescue him for a minute."

Shadow smirks. "You shouldn't make dangerous jokes like that. I'm fine with never rescuing him."

Sonic raises a brow, pointing into his white chest. "That's because you _know _he's going to beat the shit out of you."

Shadow takes his hand and backs him into a tree, holding him there. "You shouldn't talk like that, hero, you'll ruin your reputation."

Sonic turns red, and he pushes him away. "I can talk how I want, Tails isn't a kid anymore."

Shadow rolls his eyes, but grabs the others hips and pushes him back into the tree, leaning one arm above their heads, making Sonic's breath hitch. "You sound too vulgar," he murmurs into his ear. "You shouldn't talk like that in front of others."

Sonic is so flustered his body is shaking. "You-! You're such an idiot-! Such a perverted idio_mmmphh!"_

Shadow cuts him off with a kiss, swallowing his shout and forcing his lips open with his tongue. Sonic's knees give out and Shadow catches him, supporting him up against the tree. Soft, low moans and hums left the hero at each pull and push of their lips and slip of their tongues. A shaky hand latches on to white chest fur, and Sonic whines weakly.

_"Sh-Shadow," _he pants out in a tiny voice between kisses, legs shaking and his tail tucking between his legs. He whimpers as Shadow doesn't stop, biting his lips hard enough to bruise them. Dark Chaos energy flips, and Sonic gasps and tries to pull away. "H-Hey, s-stop, enough…"

He was going to go into heat. Shadow pulls back, admiring how disheveled he could get Sonic to become in such a short time. His coat was falling off his shoulders, his pupils blown and his face red.

"You're such an _idiot_," Sonic huffs, glaring at him.

Shadow leans forward and kisses his forehead, and the hero, despite being annoyed, leans into it.

"We should convince both of our groups to meet," the biohog says quietly, pulling back. Sonic nods.

"Yeah, and whoever gets the emeralds first keeps them."

He carefully helps his flustered mate regain his balance and meets his glare with a smirk. "What?"

Sonic's expression drops. "You think you're just the coolest, don't you?"

Shadow chuckles and pulls him forward, making him yelp and tense up. He holds him in place with a hand around his waist and his other holding blue quills.

"Shadow-!"

He's suddenly back up against the tree and Shadow's mouth is on his throat, biting and sucking and…

_"Ohhhhh," _Sonic keens, legs wrapping around Shadow's hips, his body breaking apart. "Sh-Shaah…" he tries, a harsh tremble cursing through him. "I'm…_please…"_

Shadow stops, feeling Sonic absolutely crumble apart like a soft cookie in his hands. "You're not in heat yet," he murmurs. Sonic glares at him.

"I'm going to be if you don't stop. Wh-What if someone sees?"

"He's right," Rouge suddenly calls from above them.

_"Rouge!" _they both scream.

* * *

_'I swear to _Dark _Gaia I will literally _kill _you if I go into heat in front of my friends.'_

Shadow smirks at the threat, earning himself a curious look from Rouge who flew beside him. They were on their way back to G.U.N.'s camp to get their plan started.

"You two are adorable," she comments, making him frown at her. "When are you going to make it official?"

"That's none of your concern," he mutters. "It's his decision, anyway."

She smiles. "...but you're the only one that can convince him."

He goes quiet at this, taking it into consideration.

Would Sonic even listen to him? He understood what it was like to question immortality, but would he decide to keep it if Shadow asked him to? The whole reason Sonic wanted to do it in the first place was to break the bond. If they have no reason to break the bond, then would that change his decision?

"Isn't being bonded like being married?" Rouge asks then. "You're stuck with each other for the rest of your immortal lives, which is basically marriage…" He frowns as she continues on. "You should _actually_ marry him. Confess your love to him with an emerald ring."

Shadow's cheeks tint pink and he scowls. "You are too much."

"You're not denying it though," she teases with a smile. "You heard him yourself. You should ask him out _officially. _No one has to know about the bond, but you two could at least announce that you're getting along enough to date."

Shadow stops walking.

Announce that they were _dating…_

Sonic would be _his_. He wouldn't have to worry about anyone putting their hands on Sonic because everyone _feared_ Shadow.

Wait...

"Sunshine?" Rouge asks, tilting her head. He looks as if he's having an epiphany.

He blinks, then looks at her and frowns.

"Am I feeling this way because of our Chaos energy or because I genuinely feel like this?"

Rouge stares, shocked.

"You really _are _having an epiphany."

He also had deja vu again.

"I hurt Sonic because my energy controlled me to. What...if…"

Rouge holds up her hands, stopping him. She sighs and puts them on his shoulders and looks him in the eyes.

"Shadow, Sonic admitted to me that he knew you were under the control of your energy and he wasn't mad at you for what you did. He knows what it's like to go through that because of his Dark form."

Shadow furrows his brows. "Even if that's true, it was wrong."

She gives him a small smile. "Yeah, but it's over now, and you and Sonic are getting along beautifully, so ask him out."

"...but I'm saying that my feelings for him may just be fabrications made by my Chaos energy."

She stills, frowning at this revelation. Shadow looks away, continuing.

"Scourge claimed Sonic has Stockholm Syndrome. I don't want that to be true."

Rouge then sighs again, this time in annoyance. "You and Sonic," she starts slowly, "_fucked _in the ARK before you lost your memory." His eyes widen a fraction as she smirks at him. "So there's _no way _your feelings are fabricated. You just _forgot_ what they were, Shadow. You two love each other. Just get out with it already."

He flushes and looks away. Her smile grows, watching him think. He was _finally_ considering things through.

His attraction to Sonic wasn't new, but these deeper feelings and desires were. To want to boast that Sonic was _his _wasn't something he thought he would ever _want_ to do, but just the idea of it was enough to awaken a possessive and temptative urge to do exactly that.

His mind, his life, suddenly felt overwhelmed by Sonic to the point he felt intimidated and doubtful that it was real.

He closes his eyes and sighs.

It _was _real. He _did _want Sonic before, but was too stupid and arrogant to admit it to himself.

Why not…just embrace it now?

Sonic could be _his. _The thought is enough to convince him.

He turns away from Rouge and starts walking again.

"I'll talk to him."

She stares at his retreating form for a second, processing his words in awe. A large smile stretches across her face, and she bounces up and flies after him.

She was proud of him.

* * *

By the time he gets back to camp, it's sunset. It's getting colder now, which he's extremely grateful for since the cold seemed to suppress his heat some, giving him more time. As he walks up next to Tails and fist bumps him, he watches Sally end a call with someone.

"What's that?" he asks, making her turn and smile at him.

"The G.U.N. Captain Terris," she explains. "He's agreeing to meet with us for a team up."

Sonic snickers. "Like they even have a choice."

"They're going to want both emeralds," Tails points out. "Even if we agree to split them."

"That's true," the princess hums, putting her hands on her hips. "As I said before, we'll just have to be faster," she says this smiling warmly at Sonic. The blue male feels his face heat up and he smiles back.

"We'll get the emeralds. It's only Team Dark we have to deal with anyway."

_"Only," _Tails chuckles dryly. "They also have a bigger army."

Sonic ruffles the kids bangs, giving him a stink eye. "...and _I'm_ Sonic the Hedgehog."

The fox laughs and Sally rolls her eyes, smiling at them.

* * *

"_This_ guy," Sonic grins snidely. Sally lightly pushes his shoulder.

"_Quiet_ you, be nice," she giggles.

Shadow silently fumes.

The two Resistance leaders were snickering over the G.U.N. Captain right in front of him, and where normally Shadow would be happy to see _any_ G.U.N. official get humiliated, the fact that Sonic and Sally were getting along so well infuriated him.

"See why you need to seal the deal?" Rouge quietly tells him. Shadow only grumbles under his breath.

Sonic hasn't even _looked_ at him, too amused by the blonde haired Captain and his angry, tired old face.

"He looks like he's murdered countless children," Sonic mutters to the princess, who is trying everything in herself to stay composed.

"Enough, Sonic," she huffs through a smirk. "Let's be _professional_."

His grin grows and she knows it's going to be impossible.

"Princess," the Terris greets begrudgingly, blatantly ignoring the two's comments.

"Captain," Sally smiles back. "Have you considered the terms for our team up?"

Shadow watches Sonic cross his arms and lean to one side, tilting his head at Terris. He could tell the hero was analyzing him with his energy.

"I have spoken with Commander Towers," Terris says lowly, obviously annoyed. "He said we will not work together unless we are guaranteed one emerald."

Sonic laughs. It's obnoxious, loud, and everyone from both G.U.N. and the Resistance looks at him. Sally sighs, knowing it was inevitable, and Shadow smirks.

He liked it when Sonic snapped a nerve or two.

Terris is now _very _offended.

"There are two emeralds," the human states in a huff. "There is no reason to be surprised for G.U.N. to request one in exchange for our firepower-"

"Do you think _we need_ your firepower?" Sonic asks, grinning widely. His emerald eyes have a soft glow to them. "What other reason would the _noble_ G.U.N. have to join our forces and raid an Eggman base?"

Sally knows she can't stop him from running his mouth. They all know better. She may be the Princess, but Sonic was _Sonic._

Terris looks to her for rescue, but she simply smiles at him in return. He's visibly sweating now, embarrassed in front of not _only_ his _entire_ army, but the Resistance as well, all by Sonic the Hedgehog himself.

"We are dedicated to taking down Dr. Eggman," the Captain glowers, "that is our reason for being here."

Sonic's smile is wicked, his eyes sharp and intimidating. Shadow wonders if it's because of his energy, or if Sonic was normally like this with G.U.N. officials.

"I'm _sure_ it is," the hedgehog purrs. "In that case, we can't _promise _that you'll get both emeralds, but you can certainly _try_. Whoever gets the emeralds first gets to keep them." When everyone's eyes widen, Sonic's grin grows. "_Both of them."_

_'You sly bastard,' _Shadow thinks with a smirk. Only the two of them (plus Rouge), knew that they were both going to walk away with an emerald. Sonic could have easily agreed with G.U.N.'s commands, but instead…

Sonic's eyes catch his for a split second.

Shadow has to admit, Sonic was a lot smarter and more devious than he could ever suspect. The hedgehog was not only showing his and the Resistance's views on G.U.N., but embarrassing them, humiliating their Captain, and showing that they weren't _needed, _they were just _convenient._

It was to make sure the Resistance looked strong despite their many fallbacks in the past so many months, and to instill and pull on the fear G.U.N. had for the Blue Blur. He was letting them know he could care less about what they think, believe, or claim to fight for.

There was _one_ catch, however.

"He's cute," Rouge smirks. Shadow chuckles.

"Very well," Terris grumbles. "I will let the Commander know your choice."

"We don't have all day," Sonic's smile becomes warm. "Are you really going to hold up the mission because you want that emerald so badly?" The man's eyes widen as Sonic asks sweetly; "Do you think it'll make you look better?"

"Captain Terris," Sally speaks up then, knowing it was time to intervene. "Sonic is right, we don't have time to discuss this any more. If G.U.N. does not join forces with us, we will act on our own as originally planned."

Terris is extremely agitated now. "I understand," he says lowly. "I'll make sure to send Team Dark for the emerald retrieval."

Sonic lights up, and Shadow's eyes widen at the _immense_ amount of Dark Chaos energy he felt then. He feels himself heat up and hopes to the _gods _he isn't blushing.

Terris fell right into Sonic's trap. Shadow hadn't even seen it.

Sonic was _insane._

"Oh?" the blue hero chirps, putting his hands on his hips. "So if _Team Dark_ gets the emerald, they get to keep it right? _It would belong to them_," he drops lowly with such a sharp smile Terris drops his mask. "Not G.U.N.."

"I like that idea," Rouge suddenly exclaims, stepping forward with a sway in her hips. "He has a point, there's no way G.U.N. could even _think _of getting that emerald without us."

Terris is furious, but too shocked to say anything.

Omega joins in, taking on Rouge and Sonic's example. "IF WE GET THE EMERALD OURSELVES WE ARE KEEPING IT."

Terris quickly looks at Shadow, who can't help but laugh, startling everyone. No one has ever seen him laugh other than Sonic and Rouge, so they're all stunned.

Sonic is beaming. Tails, standing next to his brother, looks amazed. "It's not just if they get the emerald first, but because Team Dark works for _both _the Resistance and G.U.N.!" he realizes what Sonic's done.

Sally looks at him, visibly startled. "They do?"

Sonic smiles. "Sure they do! They have a contract with G.U.N. that they will do work for G.U.N., but they are by all means independent contractors. If they get the emerald, it'll belong to them, and they can do _whatever they want_ with it."

"How do you know this?" Shadow asks, stealing the question right out of Rouge's open mouth.

Sonic laughs. "I'm the one that drafted your contract!"

Team Dark is stunned. Sally quickly turns to him. "You took part in it? I thought you didn't dabble in things like this."

Sonic shrugs. "I told you I'd handle everything with G.U.N., since they've arrested me twice and for what they did to Shadow," he says quickly with a shrug. Shadow blinks at this, watching his mate continue. "I don't trust them, so when I heard Towers wanted to hire Team Dark I stepped in and made sure he couldn't use them - that they had their _freedom_, since they've helped us so much. Tails knows 'cause he came with me for it."

"Are you serious?" Rouge breathes, completely taken by surprise.

Shadow can't believe it. "Why weren't _we _told?"

"Why wasn't _anyone_ told?" Terris exclaims angrily.

Sonic shrugs, holding his hands up innocently. "I thought you knew."

_'You're hiding something,' _Shadow thinks. Sonic meets his eyes, but it's so fast only Shadow notices it.

Sally turns to Sonic then with a smile. "So no matter what, we can trust the emeralds will be in good hands?"

He winks. "Of course, _so_," he turns to Terris. "I suggest we change up the plan here a little bit. Knuckles and the Master Emerald are here," he looks back at Sally, "and this may be a big base, but if we do this quick enough and smart enough, I think we can take the whole thing down."

His voice has grown a serious tone, the leader in him coming out. Shadow sighs softly. Sonic wanted to save Knuckles no matter what.

"Are you sure?" Sally asks nervously. "We don't have a large army, Sonic."

The hero grins. "We don't _need_ one. We just need a really good plan, and you're the Princess of making plans, and everyone can help."

Sally smiles warmly and raises a brow. "This is the first time you've ever asked for me to make a plan."

Sonic flushes and looks away. "This is the first time you've ever let me handle something so I guess we're both surprised."

Tails laughs and there's more light laughter from all around. Shadow inwardly grimaces.

Rouge was right, he needed to talk to Sonic already.

Like _now._

"Okay," Sally smiles. "We'll come up with a plan. Terris, do we have your full support?"

Terris looks hesitant to answer. Rouge grins.

"Captain, not to be blunt, but we're taking the Resistance's side for this one."

The soldier standing next to his Captain speaks up as well. "Sir, it would just be for the best to listen to Sonic and the Resistance."

There was nothing they could do. They couldn't tell the Hero of Mobius no, and the soldiers were now all in awe of said hero. They wouldn't listen to a leader that's been humiliated so badly.

"It doesn't matter," Shadow speaks up at Terris's silence. He and Sonic meet eyes. "Let's get this plan made."

Sonic smiles brightly. Shadow wishes he had his camera.

"Very well," Terris grumbles.

Sally holds up a fist. "Okay! Let's get to work!"

There's a prideful shout from the soldiers all around them.

* * *

He had hoped he could sneak Sonic away for a moment, but there was no way it was possible. They all had to go over the plan and then get ready immediately for it, so the most interaction he got with Sonic was a glimpse or two and maybe a small smile.

Sonic had been looking out for them this whole time and had never told them.

...and his hate for G.U.N. and desire to fuck with them was definitely from what those scientists had done to him. _That_ was something they needed to talk about…along with whatever Eggman did to him when he was kidnapped by him.

He gets an opportunity to talk with him after the plans are finished, as Rouge is able to snag the hero away with a bright smile.

"So does this mean you're our boss?" she asks him playfully. He chuckles.

"I mean, in a way I can be. You guys can work for whoever you want. They have to pay you for your work, anyway," he smiles.

"You are _such _a sweet bean," she coos, grabbing each side of his face.

He laughs and pushes her away. Sally and Tails have started listening in, as well as Omega, and Shadow feels a sigh leave him.

_'What do I have to do to get you alone?' _he decides to ask, watching Sonic's mask falter for just a brief second, his cheeks turning a light pink. He doesn't look at him, but one of those blue ears twitches in Shadow's direction, and the biohog internally smiles.

Omega puts a heavy hand on top of Sonic's head, in some kind of patting gesture but without the patting. "YOU HAVE MY FULL RESPECT. I WILL FOLLOW ANY ORDERS YOU GIVE."

Sonic laughs. "Aww, that's awesome, big guy!"

Shadow's eye twitches. He swore to himself he _wasn't_ jealous of his robot friend.

Rouge grins at said robot. "You got a soft spot for Blue now?"

Omega beeps as if scoffing. "HE IS ABLE TO BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF SHADOW - THE ULTIMATE LIFEFORM - AND IS THE MAIN NEMESIS OF MY NEMESIS, THEREFORE EARNS MY RESPECT."

Sonic doubles over and Rouge puts her hand on her face, the two of them laughing loudly. Shadow feels a tick grow and glares openly at the robot.

"I can dismantle you very easily, very _quickly," _he threatens. Omega doesn't seem concerned.

"SONIC COULD DO IT FASTER."

"What-?" Shadow exclaims in honest confusion, making an irritated face.

Sonic and Rouge laugh louder. Sally and Tails share a look, feeling like they were being left out of something.

* * *

Rouge giggles at him as he glares at the base from their perch on a cliff.

"Omega's gonna steal your man, Shadow," she calls with a half lidded smile. Shadow huffs and Omega, sitting behind them, beeps in agreement.

"Enough fooling around," he mutters. "Watch for the damn signal."

"Ow~ the _edge," _Rouge pouts dramatically. He rolls his eyes and she smirks, both looking over their side of the base.

G.U.N. was going to cause a scene in a nearby area, and then try to lead the attack and Eggman's defenses away from where the emeralds were stored. The Resistance will sneak in and spread out, one team heading to the security room, the control room, and one to stay by the entrance and keep it open. Sonic and Tails were going to find Knuckles, and Team Dark was heading for the emeralds.

Another small team of G.U.N. forces would come in mid battle and start making a scene at another far area of the base. This was to trick Eggman into thinking _that _group was the "real" group. He was going to figure out G.U.N. in the front was a distraction, and would then search for the real problem. Instead of finding the Resistance, he'll find the small team of G.U.N. and think it's them, and even if he finds both, he won't know which team is real.

Sally had made the split up part, but Sonic's idea was to set up the fake team and distraction. He was more than eager to use G.U.N. as bait, and despite how morbid that sounded, Shadow thought it was hot.

He didn't even care if the bond was making him think like this. Sonic with a murderous tone was _very _attractive to him. It reminded him of when Maria would come up with intense plots to mess with the G.U.N. soldiers on the ARK, or steal cakes from the kitchen. The feeling was very similar, but Sonic was much darker. It was very…

"I _love_ watching you think about him," Rouge says warmly, and Shadow realizes his face is hot.

He wondered if Sonic accidentally heard him…

Oh well.

"You're more perverted than I am," he says with a tiny smirk, knowing she was going to be taken aback by his comment.

Her excited scream could have given away their location.

* * *

"You okay?" Tails asks him, raising a brow. Sonic hopes his face isn't _that _red and nods.

"Y-Yeah, just cold."

They were standing in the trees with the two other teams, waiting to spring into action. The wind was blowing their coats and making them wince. Thankfully his Dark Chaos energy was a fire element, and he could keep himself fairly warm.

Tails didn't need to know that though.

The fox takes it but doesn't buy it. "Yeah, I didn't realize it was always Winter in the North."

Sonic chuckles. "Tallest mountains on Mobius, we're only four hours away from Holoska…"

Tails lightly punches his arm. "Okay, okay, I don't know geography or weather very well."

Sonic laughs. "You're a pilot, Tails!"

"S-So?"

The hero gives his brother a pitiful look. "Weather I get, buddy, but why geography? We travel all the time."

Tails blushes and looks away. "I…never really paid attention to it. I just…like the idea of following you to new places and not knowing what they are already."

Sonic's heart melts. "Tails, that's adorable."

The fox glares at him. "Really? I'm not a kid anymore."

Sonic puts a hand on his chest. "That hurts me you know," he chuckles.

Tails looks a _little _guilty. "Okay, I'm sorry. Don't make fun of me for it though."

Sonic ruffles his bangs and gives him an honest smile. "I would never, dude. You are _literally_ _everything_ to me, so it means a lot."

Tails's expression softens and he smiles. "I know. I feel the same way all the time."

Sally watches their conversation with a smile.

_"This is Flank Team to Center Team, we are firing in five," _is the voice of a G.U.N. soldier in her ear.

"Sonic, get ready," she looks over to him, and he nods and gives her a thumbs up.

_"-four, three, two,"_

Sonic and Tails share a nod.

_"-one."_

They could hear a loud explosion somewhere nearby, and then the alarms start blaring and the fight begins.

The doors opened and _hundreds _of Egg Pawns stormed out, followed by countless other robots, all different shapes and colors and sizes, all swarming towards the battleground.

The teams waited until the number of robots was low before jumping forward, Sonic and Tails at the lead.

They spindash and fly into the remaining robots, quickly taking them out and leading the teams inside. Nicole takes care of the doors and they close, keeping them inside.

"Alright, let's split up," Sally tells everyone. "All teams get moving." As everyone starts to scatter, she walks up to Sonic and Tails. "Be careful, you two."

They both smile, saluting and promising they would as they turn and run off.

* * *

He should have figured Towers would call him.

"Is that the big C?" Rouge asks. She's kneeling on the floor in front of a tiny computer screen next to the vault entrance.

"Yes, should I answer?" Shadow asks with a smirk.

Rouge looks back at him with a smile.

"Do it."

He answers the call, looking over to see Omega wave at him from the end of the hall, then slowly give him a middle finger. Shadow rolls his eyes.

"Hello?" he answers carelessly.

_"Shadow! What in the world is going on over there?!"_

Shadow's black ears flick in annoyance. "We're collecting the emeralds."

_"I was told you allowed the Resistance to use _my _army!"_

Shadow raises a brow. "Terris was _your_ Captain."

_"You know your priorities, Shadow!"_

Shadow chuckles. Rouge could be heard laughing behind him.

"Oh, do I?" the hedgehog asks. "Well, _Commander_, I just learned today that I don't have to do _anything _you say, because someone was looking out for us."

Rouge unlocks the doors and stands up, turning to smile at him. "Don't get us _fired_, sunshine. I gotta pay bills somehow."

Towers can definitely hear her. Shadow chuckles. "He can't fire us because he needs us."

_"Shadow-!"_

"Do we _really_ have to give _Sonic_ the _other_ emerald?" Rouge asks loudly with a pout. "Why not keep both for ourselves?"

They're both grinning darkly.

"Well, since _Sonic _has done so much for us, it's only fair we _give him_ one of the emeralds," he says, making Rouge laugh under her breath.

_"That was _not _your mission!"_

Shadow shrugs. "The Resistance is paying us better."

_"Shadow!"_

"Sorry, Commander," Rouge calls out to him. "We're in a rush, so we'll talk later, _maybe, _goodbye!"

Shadow hangs up. They share a satisfied smile.

"He's going to _scream_ at us," Rouge says with a chuckle.

Shadow snickers, turning to walk into the vault room. "We'll just bring Sonic."

She follows him as they make their way in and towards the Chaos Emeralds. "Aw~!" she hums. "Gonna bring your boyfriend to protect you from your scary mean boss?"

Shadow looks back at her with murder in his eyes, and she giggles and flies ahead of him, flying over the console the emeralds sat in. "I do agree we should bring him. I don't want to lose work for G.U.N. completely."

Shadow jumps up the large machine after her. "You know Sonic would pay us if we worked solely for the Resistance." As he lands next to her he adds, "It would be better pay than what G.U.N. gives."

Rouge smiles, looking away. "Yeah, I know. I just don't know what Sonic would let us do. I like these missions with you and Omega, even if the pay isn't the best. I also don't know if Sonic would let us work however we want."

Shadow blinks at this reaction, before smirking. "You realize he's a Dark Chaos Born with a fetish for killing people, correct?"

Rouge stares blankly at him. "Sweet Baby Blue? There's _no _way."

Shadow shrugs again. "Believe what you want."

She studies him for a moment, before smiling. "Okay, I'll bite, but just because you're being cute." He frowns at her, and her smile grows. "I _do_ remember reading about Dark Chaos Born being sadistic little fucks, and Sonic _is_ pretty crazy."

They've wasted enough time. Shadow walks up to the emeralds in the console and examines them. There's a thick glass lid over them, and it definitely looked rigged. "How do we get this open?" There's a red light coming from a grey plate attached to the glass. "What is that?"

"Oh. My. _Godssss_," Rouge groans. "He's _so_ bad at this. Why put a bomb on the _glass_ case?"

Shadow frowns at her. "To damage the emeralds?"

She gives him a deadpanned look. "Say that again, but slowly."

Shadow blinks, then realizes what she's saying.

"They're indestructible, so it wouldn't matter," he murmurs. "So it's a trap to hurt us."

"...but we can just set it to blow and run away," she tells him pointedly. "This is a trap, but it's too easy."

Shadow stops.

He couldn't sense the emeralds' energy through the glass.

"They could be fake," he says suddenly.

"Well then," a third voice joins them, making them jump. They turn around to look towards the exit, and their eyes widen in horror.

A jackal with a scar over his eye was dropping _pieces _and _scraps..._of what was left of _Omega_.

The head drops last, eyes dead, and the jackal gives them a dark smile.

"That would make them the same as you, Shadow the Hedgehog."

* * *

Sonic slides under the door just as it shuts.

They've made it to the prison.

It was a bit far from everyone else, but they could do this if they did it quickly. The hedgehog gets up to his feet and looks at his fox friend. "Alright, where's he at?"

Tails looks at his Miles Electric and makes a few taps. "This way," he points down a corridor, and the two take off down it. They run passed rows of cells, all empty, trying to ignore the chill that crept up their spines from the atmosphere of the entire place.

"Here!" Tails calls, and they skid to a stop.

"Sonic?!" Knuckles exclaims, running up to the bars. "Tails?"

Sonic smiles nervously at the echidna, before noticing the extra prisoner.

"Zonic?!"

The Zone Commander nods in return. "Sonic Prime, it's good to see you."

Tails gets to work on the lock as Sonic walks up to the bars. "What are you doing here?"

"I was caught investigating something with Silver," the other blue hedgehog explains, "but Dr. Eggman found us, captured me, and sent Silver through space and time."

"Are you kidding me?" Sonic breathes out. "What were you two _doing_ here?"

Knuckles answers that in a low, tired voice. "We can talk about it _later_."

Sonic watches Knuckles glance at Tails, and the hero looks away guiltily.

It must have something to do with him and Shadow.

"Got it," Tails huffs, stepping away from the door. It opens and the two run out.

"Let's get moving," Zonic says, and they turn and start running in the direction Tails takes them.

"You're in a deep ass puddle, Sonic," Knuckles says as he runs beside him.

The hedgehog flushes. "Yeah, I know."

Knuckles was pretty mad. He could feel it, but that anger wasn't directed at Sonic. There was only disappointment there for the blue hero, and for some reason that made Sonic feel worse.

They turn a corner and screech to a halt.

"Uh oh," Tails mumbles.

Three rough looking jackals stood in front of them with knives, blades, and gadgets aimed at them. Behind them four more jackals appeared, holding guns and bows.

The group falls back to back.

"Boys," Sonic says lightly with a curious grin. "Wanna introduce ourselves?"

"You're Sonic the Hedgehog," the closest jackal smiles sharply. His voice is rough and low. "You'd make a _fine_ trophy to own."

Sonic shudders. "Why is everyone so adamant about capturing me?"

Knuckles smirks back at him. "What? Don't like the attention?"

The hero holds his hands out, quills bristling. "That's _not_ funny!"

"Guys," Tails speaks up. "We gotta get moving..."

"We're working for the doctor to protect this base, and our reward," the jackal licks his lips. "Is a certain blue hedgehog."

Sonic flushes. _"Gross."_

"Like hell if you're laying a finger on him," Knuckles growls loudly. "I've been sitting in that cell for how long now, and my patience is gone. Anyone touches Sonic I'm instantly killing them."

The blue male's flush deepens, and even Tails looks surprised. "Is there something I'm miss-"

_"Nothing!" _Sonic says quickly. "Guys, Tails is a _child."_

"Sonic-!"

"We're wasting time," Zonic speaks up. "Let's get this over with."

The jackals all share the same, wild look.

_"Haha,"_ one of them laughs. "We're eating good _tonight_."

* * *

_"Omega!" _Rouge exclaims. Shadow pushes her back.

"Get the emeralds," he hisses. She quickly turns and starts working on setting the bomb. Shadow turns his attention to the jackal. "Who the _hell_ do you think you are?"

The jackal smirks. "My name is Zero. I'm the best mercenary on this planet. My squad and I were hired to deal with you."

Shadow's eyes narrow. "Where's the rest of your team?"

Zero's grin is _evil._

"Getting us a new toy to play with."

Rouge pauses and looks back. Shadow grows tense and angry.

"What _kind_ of toy?" Shadow asks in a sneer. He already knows the answer, but he needs to _hear _it.

The jackal chuckles. "That wonderful little Dark Chaos Born of yours."

Rouge starts working faster, popping the cap off to get to the wires of the bomb.

"What the hell do you want with him?" Shadow snaps. "Why would you want him?"

Zero leans his hands on the handle of the sword that's nearly as tall as him. "He's a _Dark Chaos Born_. I haven't had my hands on one of his kind for a long time. They make _delicious_ pets."

Shadow frowns. "The Chaos Born have been extinct for _years."_

"Most, not all," Zero says cooly. "The few good ones the God of Chaos adored got to stay and live in secret over the years." His smile grows. "Who knew Sonic the Hedgehog would be a _Dark Chaos Born?"_

"What do you want with him?" Rouge calls, putting the cover back on. It was almost done. She needed a little more time.

"My family has done work dealing in Dark Chaos Born for centuries," Zero smiles. "There are some _groups _that like to get their hands on them. Dark Chaos energy is the strongest form of energy, and _extremely_ valuable."

"What do you do with them?" Shadow growls. Zero looks smug and soulless.

"Oh, there are many things we can do with them. Love, Lust, Fear, Anger, and other similar emotions can bring out the most energy in a Dark Chaos Born. We just need to make them scream a little, and we get infinite power," he says, not bothered by the hatred burning from Shadow's eyes. "Of course, if we get bored of him," he adds lightly, "we could always sell him to the right buyer."

"Rouge…" Shadow growls.

"I'm done!" she exclaims.

The hedgehog grabs her and they jump out of the way. The case explodes, sounding off another alarm, and Shadow dashes for the emeralds. He practically rips them out of the console and Chaos Controls to Rouge just as Zero was dashing to stop him. He Chaos Controls to Omega's head and grabs it, handing it to Rouge.

"Get back to camp," he orders. She glares at him.

"I'm not leaving you, idiot."

"Omega's harddrive needs to be looked at," he says back to her. "Go."

She stares at him for a second, before nodding and flying off. Shadow turns his attention to Zero, the other holding up his red sword.

"My squad most likely has him by now," the jackal growls.

Shadow smirks. "I have two Chaos Emeralds."

Zero stares, bewildered. "What?"

The ebony hedgehog charges.

* * *

"Where did you get those?" Knuckles asks, watching Sonic use the glowing blade rings Nicole gave him.

"It's a secret," he says with a smirk, meeting every swing of each jackals' swords.

"Where did you learn how to use swords?" Tails asks excitedly, thinking it was the coolest thing ever. Sonic chuckles, forcing one of the jackals back.

"That's a secret, too."

They needed to get outside, but the jackals were in their way. Sonic huffs, knowing there really wasn't any other choice.

"How about this?" he calls to the jackals. "Catch me first."

"Sonic-!" Knuckles and Tails exclaim, but the jackals have been told to fetch and the ball was Sonic.

The hero turns and heads back the way they came. He would shake them and meet up with the others later.

"Just go!" he yells at his friends.

The jackals chase after him.

* * *

He slams into Zero so hard they crash through the console and through the wall behind it, into a wide hallway that stretched out on both sides.

Shadow doesn't stop his attack, his mind a fury of rage at the jackal that dared threaten Sonic. He kicks him down the hall with his skates, sending him rolling. Zero shouts as he hits the ground, a loud curse in the empty hallway.

"You," he growls.

"Pathetic," Shadow hisses. "Don't show your face around me again."

He Chaos Controls away, and Zero screams out a loud curse.

* * *

Sonic pants out a breath as a bullet whizzes by his legs. He turns a corner and sees the exit, his plan to spindash it…

A bullet grazes his cheek.

He cries out and instinctively jumps and curls into a ball, hitting the door but only bouncing off of it.

That bullet touched his _face_.

He hits the ground as his vision goes white. He could feel blood leaking between his fingers as they pressed into the wound. Immortal or not, he did _not _want to know what would happen if he got shot in the head.

He hears the jackals approaching and gets out his blades. He couldn't get out this way...he needed to get to the others. He was going to have to run passed these guys.

He blocks a bullet with his blade and quickly (and dizzyingly) dashes to the side. He dodges the first jackal and swings his blade at the second, the two clashing. Sonic's eyes are narrowed, his inner knight taking over and throwing the others blade out of his hands and to the side. Sonic kicks him hard and barely dodges the next jackal.

He dances out of the way of the fourth and fifth and takes off back down the hall.

A bullet, in some ill fated stroke of luck, hits the blue inhibitor on his wrist and shatters it.

The heat he's been holding back _grabs _him.

His legs buckle beneath him and he goes rolling, letting out a shout of surprise. He hits a wall and stops, feeling his Dark Chaos energy escape and take control over him. He whines and gasps, pulling himself up into a crouch, his body starting to shake and heat up.

"Oh fuck, come on," he groans, his tail tucking between his legs.

Shadow…

His eyes widen. He can call for help!

_'Shadow you need to get here now!'_

The jackals run up to him and he glares, trying to push himself up but failing.

"He's in heat," the one laughs. "The doctor really _was _telling the truth."

* * *

Sally sees them and her eyes shrink. "Where's Sonic?!"

Knuckles falls forward and collapses. He wasn't in good shape from being beaten on Angel Island. Like hell if he went down without a fight, but his body was starting to fail him.

The mention of the hero's name has Tails running to the Tornado. "He ran off! The Jackal Squad is after him!"

"Are you serious?!" Sally exclaims, helping Zonic sit Knuckles against a tree.

"That idiot is in a lot of danger," the echidna groans. "You guys _have_ to get him back."

"We will," Zonic says assuringly. He turns to jump on the plane with Tails, ready to join him when Sally suddenly shouts.

"Watch out!"

A large laser rips the ground apart in front of them, Zonic barely jumping back in time to avoid it.

It came from a large robot now approaching them, smacking trees out of its way as if it were nothing, Eggman sitting in its cockpit.

"Hello, rodents!" he laughs loudly.

* * *

They dragged him into a cell, two of them staying outside to guard it while the others held Sonic up against the far wall, the Dark Chaos Born now panicking.

_'Shadow please for the love of Chaos where are you?!'_

One of the jackals, the one that called him a trophy before, grabbed his throat and grinned. "Oh yes, you're going to be _much _fun."

There were too many of them. Sonic's heart rate speeds up as two of them grab his legs and lift them, spreading them open. They were all cackling and joking and laughing about their catch, and Sonic wanted to _die _in embarrassment.

The jackal that seemed to be leading them pressed into him, their hips flush together. Sonic mewls as he's ground into.

"N-No," he pants out. "W-What do you w-want?"

"You," the jackal chuckles huskily in his ear. "Your energy."

The others were eager to get their hands on him, too, and one spoke up with a frown.

"Don't you think we should let the boss see him first?"

Some of the jackals rolled their eyes. The one in between Sonic's legs grins.

"...and waste this opportunity? He's already in heat."

Hands rake down his sides and Sonic's breath studders. Those hands worked down his hips and under him, clawed fingers pulling at his tail. One of the jackals presses on his cheek where the bullet grazed him and he yelps.

"Zero isn't going to like that he was damaged," the one jackal says.

The one whose fingers were teasing and pressing the area directly below Sonic's tails smirks.

"He'll heal quickly."

One of those clawed fingers slips in him.

Sonic breaks.

He screams and kicks angrily, dark energy bursting off of him in flames.

"Get off!"

_'Shadow! Shadow please get here _now_!'_

The jackals start laughing again, and another clawed finger enters him.

"I wonder where your essence is?" the jackal fingering him asks lowly. Sonic whimpers, body trembling violently.

He feels those claws scratch against it, and he whines loudly, shaking his head.

_'Shadow please, Shadow please, Shadow where are you?!'_

He was scared. If his essence is hit he's going to die.

"N-No," he whispers out, pleading with shaking emerald eyes.

The jackal's smile is feral.

* * *

He was close enough he could hear Sonic's scream echo down the hallway. A powerful rip in their energy makes Shadow gasp and nearly fall forward, holding his chest.

His eyes sharpen darkly as he realizes what's happened. Sonic's pleas replay in his head and he feels an anger he hasn't in a _long _time.

He runs down the hall and crashes into the two jackals standing outside the cell. He closelines them both in the throats, knocking them back so hard their heads slam into the hard metal ground. They go out instantly.

He throws a Chaos Spear at the cell and then flies through the exploding doors. The jackals shout in surprise, the one holding Sonic dropping him instantly. Shadow kicks one jackal in the face with his skate, then grabs one and throws them into a wall. He grabs the blade of the lead jackal's sword with his hands and pulls him forward, kneeing him in the stomach and throwing him to the side. The others are down just as quickly, and then Shadow kneels down by Sonic and helps him up to his shaky feet.

Sonic meets his eyes and Shadow's blood goes cold.

Despite the large graze on the left side of his muzzle and the blood trickling between his shaking legs, Sonic was smiling at him.

His energy was very, _very _ominous.

"Sonic," Shadow starts, but Sonic stops him, putting a hand over his mouth. His fur was midnight blue and his quills were standing, his emerald eyes now literally _glowing, _his pupils sharp and dilated.

"_Shadow_," the darkened hero says warmly, almost sounding drunk.

They had hit his essence with plans to do far worse, and now Sonic was radiating so much negative Chaos Shadow felt his breath choke up in his throat, his body warm and becoming cloudy with Sonic's _hot, _burning energy.

Sonic cups the side of his face almost lovingly. He's barely standing on his own, but he leans up on his tip toes and presses a kiss onto Shadow's cheek.

"Will you kill them for me?"

Shadow feels like his mind is flipping upside down. His own energy is going _insane, _and suddenly he wants to just _drown_ in Sonic's energy.

Wait, did Sonic ask for him to…?

_"Shadow," _Sonic murmurs to him, kissing his muzzle again. "Kill them. I want them to _die for me."_

Shadow _wants _to kill them, but Sonic was acting…

"Shadow…" the darkened hero, seemingly possessed by his own energy, looks up at him with flushed cheeks and a _seductive _smile. "They _hurt _me, Shadow."

That's all it takes for Shadow's energy to take control over him.

* * *

They don't even hesitate to drag the jackals into a nearby power room. It took even less time to start throwing them in a pit Dark Sonic happily made.

They were perfectly in sync. Everything Sonic wanted Shadow did without ask. The biohog knew his mate wanted these guys to suffer, and all the different ways they could make that happen flew through Shadow's mind like pictures on a phone.

They acted without even thinking that this wasn't normal for them. That they were being possessed so easily by Sonic's energy.

When the jackals would try to fight or get up, Shadow would just beat them senseless. Sonic wanted them to take their time, he wanted the jackals' pain to last. Eventually he got tired of them trying to fight and escape, so he looked at Shadow and smiled sweetly, so innocently despite the blood on their hands, and the Ultimate Lifeform started breaking their limbs.

Four of them were dead by the time Sonic started pouring robot oil and throwing robot parts into the pit. The remaining jackals were screaming at them, but they were trapped.

When Sonic decided their work was done, he walked up to Shadow and smiled. He didn't even have to say it. Shadow lifted him up in his arms, and then fired a Chaos Spear at the nearby generator, the two disappearing in a flash of Chaos Control.

* * *

The explosion took out the entire center of the base.

Eggman screams as he sees this, wondering what the hell could have caused it. The Resistance was fighting away at his mech, taking down the robots sent at them. Tails had converted his plane into a battle mech and was firing back at the doctor with just as much vigor.

"What _was _that?!" Sally yells out, ducking behind the large boulder Knuckles was crouched behind.

The echidna is sweating. "We _have_ to find Sonic."

"You're all finished!" Eggman screams at them.

Then his mech explodes. It shoots his Egg Pod out like a catapult, sending the doctor crashing into trees and robots.

Sally and Knuckles look around the rock to see the mech suit fall apart. The princess's eyes widen at the monkey mobian standing there in the aftermath.

"Ken?!"

The King of the Free People turns and smiles at her.

"Princess."

* * *

They collapsed in some remote part of the forest outside the base, hands feeling down each others bodies. They were covered in blood, soot, ash, rolling in cold snow, but neither cared. Their lips pulled and pushed on each others, Sonic kissing him back probably rougher than he himself was being.

Somewhere in the back of his head, he was in shock. He knew once they came down from whatever high they were in, they were both going to fall apart.

Right now that didn't matter.

Their hips are grinding against each other, and his mouth pulls away from Sonic's and moves on to his neck. He sucks and bites on it, one of his hands moving between Sonic's legs.

Those bastards hurt him.

He growls thinking about it and Sonic shivers, green eyes still glowing mesmerizingly. Despite how fevered they are, he's gentle when he pushes two fingers in Sonic's body.

_"Oh Shadow," _Sonic pants. Shadow makes a noise that could be a whimper.

Sonic's hands are snaking through black and red quills, pulling his mate closer and begging for more in his ears.

_'Please.'_

Thinking to each other was somehow more intimate than talking.

Shadow knows they can't prolong this anymore.

He pulls his fingers from him and then lifts midnight blue hips up, and just as he was about to carefully enter the shaking body beneath him, Sonic's powerful legs wrap around his waist and bring him forward hard and fast.

They both cry out, Shadow louder than Sonic this time.

* * *

There was nothing left.

Eggman looks over the destruction and grimaces.

That explosion hadn't been an accident.

He catches a glimpse of a dark figure moving below in the wreckage, and a slow grin forms on his lips.

"At least the plan is still moving accordingly."

* * *

A nearby river washed them up. Shadow was careful to bring Sonic close to the water, the exhausted hedgehog shaking in fear just by looking at it. They said nothing as Shadow cleaned up, listening to the sound of gunfire in the distance.

Sonic was still in his Dark form.

Shadow was still in shock.

They didn't say anything as they gathered themselves up. They only meet eyes, lightly nodding at each other, before taking off to find the rest of their teams.

* * *

"Oh, what?" Knuckles breathes.

They were all halted by Sonic and Shadow's arrival.

Well, mostly by Sonic.

"Sonic?!" Tails is the first to yell, seeing the horrible wound on the side of the hero's muzzle. Shadow had carefully cleaned it as best he could, but Sonic needed better help now.

He was also still in his Dark form, and his glowing eyes were hollow. It was as if he were drugged, and Shadow, too much in shock to speak for him, helped guide him to the others.

Tails and Knuckles were immediately on the hedgehog, asking him what happened and if he was okay. The dark hero only smiled emptily, not seeming to know where he was or what was going on.

Shadow watches Sonic's closest friends sit him down on a mat laid out on the ground, the fox calling for a medical kit. Knuckles turns to Shadow then, opening his mouth to question him, then he stops short, seeing the dazed expression on the Ultimate Lifeform's face. The echidna calms down some, the two staring at each other for a long, uneasy minute.

"Omega was destroyed," Shadow then decides to mumble out, not really thinking on his own. "I will be back."

Knuckles sighs and looks away.

"Fine."

As he turns around, the striped hog sees Sally approaching with a mobian monkey wearing a crown. They don't even look at him, both too shocked by Sonic's dark appearance.

He skates off towards the G.U.N. camp, hoping Rouge made it back safely.

* * *

He passed out after Shadow left. Whatever energy he had left was gone with his mate.

When he wakes up, he almost doesn't remember everything. He's laying in what looks like a hospital bed, his eyes stuck looking at the ceiling. He can hear muffled voices outside his door, and he takes the time to try and regain his memories.

It all hits him instantly and his eyes widen in horror.

"Oh no," he whispers.

The heart monitor connected to him starts beeping much faster. It didn't help his suddenly racing thoughts.

_'Holy shit what did I do?!'_

He killed the jackals. He and Shadow _actually _murdered them.

No, no this couldn't be happening…

The door opens but he doesn't even notice. His mind starts spinning wildly and he feels sick. He feels hands grab him, hears people trying to talk to him. He knows the hands on him are Shadow's but he's too lost in his head to think straight about it.

_'I killed them-I killed them-fuck what have I done?'_

Someone tries to lay him down and he feels his stomach lurch.

"I'm gonna-" is all he's able to groan out before he's vomiting.

Thankfully Shadow was able to get him to lean into the trash can.

Knuckles, Zonic, and Rouge stood by and watched quietly. They were the only ones in the room, having locked everyone else out despite protest. Luckily they were all too afraid of Zonic to argue, so they were left out, leaving the only ones who knew anything about the situation inside Sonic's room together.

Rouge grabs a paper cup from a nearby water dispenser, filling it and handing it to Shadow. He takes it and helps Sonic sit back, grabbing a washcloth off the bedside table and wiping up his mate's mouth. Sonic was pale, and even though he wasn't in his Dark form anymore, he didn't look much better. He was pale and his fur coat looked dull, and his emerald eyes have lost their glow and now just look lost.

Shadow swallows the uneasy lump in his throat.

_'I wanted them dead, too,' _he thinks, helping Sonic drink the water. _'It wasn't you… I would have killed them anyway."_

Sonic meets his eyes. His lack of response and the look on his face spoke volumes...he was in shock, too.

After taking the empty cup and tossing it in the trash, Shadow watches Sonic close his eyes and sit there and breathe for a minute.

After some silence, Knuckles looks at Zonic, who sighs and nods. The echidna clears his throat, making Sonic flinch and Shadow frown.

"We've got a lot to talk about," the echidna says lowly.

* * *

**Notes-**

_Oh boy._

_We spent all week hacking at this chapter to get it done. We're amazed we could get it done on time._

_No disrespect to the jackals or their characters and creators, but they needed to play really bad guys in this chapter for it to work. We considered other candidates from the comics, but couldn't come up with anyone who fit the description. I usually blend the universes together anyway, and you guys know that by now._

_Thank you to everyone's kind comments, especially the few I've talked to on Twitter recently. Very helpful and so very kind. You guys are so sweet. _

_So...a lot happened! I can officially say this story is going to get super intense from here on out. Get ready to feel emotions! How is Knux going to react? What is Sonic going to feel? What is Shadow going to do?_

_Demons and Dare the Truth are going to be focused on next, just because this story has had so much from us. Don't forget to comment! I know this chapter was kind of dark, but like I said, it's kind of like a season finale and is a huge turning point._

_See you guys again soon!_

_-Anoni_


	20. 19 - What is Love?

**Chapter 19 - What Is Love?**

The room is dead and silent. Sonic turns his head and swallows while Shadow looks away and closes his eyes.

Rouge watches both of them and sighs.

"Knuckles, this isn't the time to talk about anything yet," she says, earning both his and Zonic's attention.

The Zone Cop frowns at her. "We cannot continue to delay anything further. Everything we do from here on out must be done delicately."

The bat glares at him. "You think talking about this _right now _is handling this _delicately_?" She gestures to the two hedgehogs with a wave of her hand. "First of all, we're in a G.U.N. base. Now is not the time to be talking about sensitive information. Not to mention, Sonic's other friends need to see him, and he needs to get back to my club before _you know what_ happens. Finally," she pauses, looking straight at both Knuckles and Zonic, giving them a disappointed look. "You act like you know, but neither of you know that these two boys have been through these past three months. Back off, and let them recover before you go off on them."

Sonic and Shadow were staring at her in slight awe.

She really _was _like a sister.

Knuckles sighs and looks down, crossing his arms, and Zonic's hardened expression drops just slightly.

"Very well," the Zone Commander says tiredly. "It's late. We can talk in the morning and go over everything."

Rouge's voice softens. "That's a better plan. You both are welcome to stay the night in the guest rooms," she eyes Knuckles "...even until you get your island back."

"That's fine for now," he agrees. "We'll escort Sonic to and from Mobotropolis. We'll try not to be too late."

Rouge smiles. "We're going with you, actually."

The echidna frowns. "Why?"

"Omega," she replies, looking away and blinking rapidly. "He was destroyed. G.U.N. doesn't have the brain to fix him. We're going to see if Tails can save him."

Sonic looks surprised by this, and he looks at Shadow questioningly. The biohog scowls, fists clenching.

Both Rouge and Shadow are extremely distressed, and it hits Sonic in waves. He can feel how angry and upset they are, and he realizes just how close they are as a team.

Knuckles can tell by looking at Rouge how serious this was. Omega wasn't just a robot, and had emotion, spirit, and more importantly was their friend, and there was a chance they would lose him forever.

He feels a little bad now, and he nods.

"Okay," his voice is softer too now. "We'll all go. I suppose we should stick together if Eggman's latest fetish is kidnapping people."

Sonic makes a disgusted expression, and Rouge chuckles dryly.

"I thought _I've_ said some nasty things," she jokes.

* * *

The girl turned her head at the sound of Nicole appearing before her in her hologram, smiling gently. "Zonic called; they'll be here soon," the lynx says gently.

Sally smiles back. "That's good. That means Sonic is awake?"

Her friend nods. "Yes, he's okay. He only went into shock from being in his Dark form, and his injury is mostly healed. He'll be okay."

The princess sighs in relief. "That was a close one. We didn't even get the Master Emerald."

"We rescued Knuckles and the No Zone Commander," Nicole says brightly. "We also got both Chaos Emeralds and took out a large part of his base. I also was able to scan all of it into my database so we can take it out for good next time."

Sally beams at her. "Nicole… What would I do without you?"

The holo lynx laughs lightly. "That's what I'm here for."

There's a knock on the office door then, and Sally calls for them to enter.

As it opens and Monkey Kahn steps in, Sally's expression lightens up. "Ken, I was wondering when you would explain yourself."

The king smiles as he steps in, leaving the door cracked. "My apologies, Sally. I figured you needed the time."

Nicole frowns at this, turning to Sally. "I have to go see Tails to finish uploading the plans of Eggman's base. Call for me if you need me."

Sally smiles. "I will."

After the lynx leaves, they wait a second, before both smiling at each other.

"It's been a while," the monkey says happily.

"You know I'm trying to fix my relationship with Sonic," she says with half lidded eyes. "So please tell me your love isn't the reason for being here."

He chuckles, shrugging and taking a step closer to her. "It might be," he jokes. "I've finished my business with the doctor, and have nothing else to do."

Sally tilts her head, putting a hand on her hip. "What was your business with him?"

He reaches for her hair and plays with it absentmindedly. "He had something of mine I needed to get back. It was more of a personal vendetta mission."

She casually brushes his hand away, giving him a look. "So you came back with us to try and win me over?"

He smiles. "I thought you would appreciate some help."

She rolls her eyes but smiles back. "I do, but you know I'm trying to get back with Sonic."

The monkey frowns, before looking away sadly. "Sally, will it ever happen?"

"Of course," she says, frowning in confusion. "He and I are finally starting to get closer."

The king only shakes his head. "For how long? Can you really trust him to be a king with you? Sonic isn't the responsible type."

She looks down. Her gut twisted because she felt he was right. "I like to believe we've both changed."

"Is he still running off all the time?" the tall male asks, holding up his hands. "Still running recklessly into battle, leaving you and everyone behind? He's going to get himself killed, Sally."

"He's gotten better, and he's…" she starts, about to talk about Sonic's immortality, but remembering they didn't agree to share that around.

Then again…if he gives up his immortality and losses his Chaos energy, he _would_ be able to die.

If he gives up his immortality, there's a chance Eggman could_ actually _kill him. They would lose him.

"Sally," Kahn sighs, taking her face gently with his hands. "You need to make a decision now. Sonic isn't going to always be by your side, but I can if you _let_ me."

…and then he leans forward and kisses her.

* * *

The helicopter flight to New Mobotropolis was thankfully shorter than expected. The group was quiet in respects to Omega, whose only part left was his head, and in it, his harddrive.

When they arrived Nicole was there to greet them, smiling as Sonic jumped down from the helicopter onto the landing. "It's good to see you're alright," she says to him, and he gives her a tiny smile.

Then he notices she's _really_ bothered by something, and quickly pulls her aside. Shadow watches from behind Rouge, who's talking with the pilot.

"What's up?" Sonic asks quietly, and Nicole's eyes grow a little bigger.

"How did you know I was upset?"

He smiles, not wanting to admit it was because of the Chaos energy in her programming that gave her emotions. Her emotions stood out strongly over normal mobians, so when he felt it he was almost stunned. "It's a secret," he puts a finger over his mouth and chuckles. "What's up though?"

She studies him for a moment, before looking away sadly. "Monkey Kahn is here."

Sonic falters, brows furrowing. "O-Oh. What's he want?"

The girl shrugs nervously. "I don't know. He helped us against Eggman earlier." She pauses, glances at him, then looks away again guiltily. "He's in the office with Sally."

Sonic tenses.

She wouldn't…would she?

He turns almost without thought and starts heading towards the entrance to the castle. Shadow frowns at this, and Knuckles jogs after him.

"Sonic wait!" Zonic calls, both males chasing after him looking panicked.

"Hey," Rouge nudges the biohog's side with her elbow, getting his attention. "Let's go see Tails," she says softly, holding up Omega's head.

He looks back at where Sonic was running off to, then sighs and nods.

* * *

It was like one of those terrible romance shows Amy tried to get him to watch once. Only difference was he was expecting this, and when he opened the door and just stood there thinking about how _terribly _cliché it was, he almost wanted to laugh.

Knuckles almost runs into him, followed by Zonic, and that's when Sally and Kahn realize they're being watched, and Sally's face becomes one of pure horror.

"Sonic!" she exclaims.

Sonic is pretty sure he was in shock again. It was hard to hear now, his ears fuzzy, and he can't really _feel _anything because _why did this keep happening?_

He doesn't hear what Knuckles angrily says because his ears feel like they're stuffed with cotten. Zonic pulls him away and he lets him, faintly hearing the door slam behind them. He feels Knuckles's hand on his back, leading him down the hallway to the exit.

"Shadow better fucking pull this off," he barely hears the echidna mutter.

They make their way out of the castle, Knuckles and Zonic shielding Sonic from any nosy pedestrians nearby. They could see in his eyes that he wasn't all there.

"This wasn't supposed to happen yet," Zonic snaps. "Monkey Kahn appearing, _yes, _but not _this."_

Sonic doesn't seem to hear this. Knuckles gives the hero a worried look. "It's fine," he answers Zonic. "Shows her true colors anyway." They stop outside Sonic's house and he turns to Sonic, grabbing his shoulders. "Hey," he says softly. "This was meant to happen, okay? She's not worth it, Sonic. You have a bond now."

The hedgehog gives a shaky nod, but his irises are still empty and dark, and the whites of his eyes are glossy.

"Come on, buddy," the echidna sighs, pulling the hero inside the building.

"What now?" Zonic asks as they step into the living room.

"Stay with him and help him pack his stuff. We need to keep him away from everyone from here on out," the echidna mutters, guiding Sonic to his bedroom. "I'm going to go talk with princess heart breaker. Tell Rouge to head out and we'll meet them there."

* * *

Tails looks surprised when he opens his door and sees them there, then his eyes travel to Omega's head in Rouge's hands and his eyes widen.

"Oh, Chaos! What happened?!"

He lets them in, taking Omega as Rouge hands him over.

"He was torn apart by the leader of the Jackal Squad," Shadow mutters. "His hard drive is in his head. Can you save him?"

"I…" Tails starts hesitantly. He looks at the robot's head in his hands, swallowing at the responsibility just put on him.

"If you can't, sweetheart," Rouge starts quietly. "That's…fine. I'm sure something can be done no matter what."

The fox looks up at their anxious faces, then takes in a deep breath.

"I'll do my best," he says. "I'll need parts for his body, paint, a power supply, and some other things," he says, making them relax some. "I'll try to get him online at least by tomorrow morning."

"Thank you," Rouge sighs. "He's our friend, and we don't trust G.U.N. with him."

The fox smiles warmly. "I know. We'll save Omega." He pauses, then gives them a nervous, curious look. "Is…Sonic okay?"

They exchange looks, and Rouge nods. "Yeah, his injuries aren't that bad. He's here now, so you should go see him."

Tails smiles. "I will. He didn't look good earlier."

Rouge and Shadow both frown.

"Yeah," Rouge breathes. "Sometimes there's only so much a person can take. Sonic needs a _lot_ of love."

Shadow knows she's directing this at _both_ of them. He looks away, and Tails gives the bat a sad smile.

Rouge's communicator beeps, and they all frown at it. She answers hesitantly, her large ears folding.

"Commander Zonic?"

His face appeared on the device's screen, and he's very agitated.

_"Knuckles said to go and head out. Sonic's packing and Knuckles is dealing with that…" _he takes in a sharp breath, containing his anger. _"...with the princess."_

Shadow frowns in concern. Rouge's brows knit together, and she purses her lips in thought. "Sonic is packing? What happened?"

There's a sigh through the mic. _"He walked in on Monkey Kahn and the princess kissing."_

Shadow tenses. Tails's eyes shrink.

Rouge makes the angriest face she's ever made.

"That fucking _cunt," _she sneers, making all three males look up at her in surprise. Shadow has _never _seen her this angry. Rouge continues on, not caring how scary she sounded. "Does she have _any _idea how much that boy has cried over her?"

"_Rouge_," Shadow states firmly in warning, making her sigh and wipe a hand down her face.

"Sorry. I was Sonic's counselor last time she did this," she explains with a shrug. "I've been emotionally invested in their relationship for a while now."

Shadow gives her an irritated look, as if to ask why she hadn't told him. She smirks at him.

"Alright, we'll be there. Let us know when we can expect you," she says to Zonic then. The Zone Cop nods.

_"Very well."_

He hangs up, and the three in the living room share a look.

"She's awful," Rouge says with a huff. She looks at Tails accusingly. "Why haven't you talked any sense into your brother?"

The kitsune flinches and scratches the back of his head nervously. "Sonic is hard to talk to about these things as it is."

Shadow snorts. Rouge and Shadow both give him a questioning look, but he declines to give them one and simply holds up his brand new Chaos Emerald.

"Let's get going."

She eyes the emerald, then eyes him darkly. "You're giving that to me, right?"

He frowns pointedly at her. "Sonic is the one that owes you an emerald, not me."

Tails tilts his head at their conversation, and Rouge blinks. "Oh yeah," she hums, before shrugging. "I'll give him a rain check for now."

Shadow glares at her. "Let's just go."

* * *

By the time they arrived at Club Rouge it was well into the night. They were tired and irritated, and Sonic was stuck in some kind of zombie-like emotional state. He was mute, moved quietly, and seemed dazed. Zonic and Knuckles were both extremely worried. Talking to him was futile, and nothing they said got through to him.

Shadow and Rouge were in the kitchen when they arrived, and the moment Shadow sees Sonic and the state he's in, he's putting down his coffee and walking over to him. Sonic buries his face into the biohog's shoulder and closes his eyes, and his mate hugs him back almost shyly.

Knuckles and Zonic both watch with scowls, and Rouge turns to them and smiles.

"I think we should all get to bed," she says with a tired sigh. "I can show you the guest rooms," she offers.

They nod, leaving Sonic and Shadow alone in the kitchen.

* * *

"There," the doctor grins at the person on the screen. "The plan can still work even if those two idiots get along."

Monkey Kahn glares at him. "I did what you wanted. Send the kill code for the bombs in my lands."

Eggman laughs. "Yes, I am a man of my word. I'll meet you personally at your residence."

He hangs up the call just as Orbot enters the room. "Sir, Silver has trapped Metal Sonic in another dimension."

"That blasted hedgehog!" the doctor screams. "_Where_ is Metal?!"

"We're searching," the robot sighs. "I will let you know immediately once we find him."

Eggman growls under his breath. "At least we've put a wedge in his plans for now. That Jackal Squad proved to be more useful than I imagined."

"What are we going to do with their leader?" Orbot asks curiously.

The doctor only grins.

* * *

Sonic still had time before he went into heat. They both sit on the bed, and as he puts his two bags down, Sonic hands Shadow the folded up picture he had taken.

Shadow takes it and puts it on the nightstand, before turning and pressing a kiss on his mate's temple. "Thank you."

Sonic blushes, but moves when Shadow motions for him to sit across his lap, the biohog wrapping his arms around him as the hero stretches out his legs.

They sit comfortably, Sonic resting his head on Shadow's shoulder.

Shadow wonders if he should say anything.

Sonic speaks first.

"Is it bad that I don't feel anything?"

The biohog sighs. "I had a feeling that's what you were thinking."

Sonic looks up at him, brows knitted together. "Why don't I feel anything?"

Shadow runs a hand through blue quills, shrugging tiredly. "That's just what it feels like."

The hero's frown deepens and he looks up at the ceiling. "Why don't I feel guilty?"

"They deserved it," the biohog answers sternly. "They were going to do terrible things with you."

Sonic meets his eyes. "I don't understand what, why, or for what purpose."

"Their leader," Shadow starts softly. "I fought with him after he tore apart Omega. He said that his family has been hunting down the Dark Chaos Born for centuries. They were after you because they know what you are."

The hero looks confused now. "The Chaos Born-"

"I know," his mate stops him. "Apparently, your family wasn't the only one to be in hiding."

Sonic looks away, ears falling back. "Is that why…Uncle Chuck and my…adopted parents never told me?"

"It's possible," Shadow frowns. "We still haven't solved why you can use both forms of Chaos either."

Sonic hums, tilting his head. "I don't know if I want to know what I am anymore."

The striped hog he was sitting on leans forward to press a kiss on his temple. "It would be wise to find out regardless. You can't keep living in ignorance."

"I didn't even know I was," the blue male sighs. "I felt shocked when I woke up earlier," he admits. "I couldn't believe what I had done, but now…" he shakes his head. "I don't even care that they're dead." Looking at Shadow with lost emerald eyes, he looks as if he wants help. "Doesn't that make me a bad person?"

"Never," Shadow answers quickly. "You've forgiven me countless times for many horrible things. You're allowed to want to hurt the people who've hurt you."

"That doesn't make killing them okay?" he says uncertainly. "...d-does it?"

"No one who goes out of their way to hurt someone innocent for personal gain," Shadow says softly, pulling Sonic closer, "is worth letting live. If they had hurt one of your friends, would you be questioning this so much?"

The hero goes quiet. "N...No…"

"You're allowed to snap," Shadow tells him. "I told the Commander you're the only reason this world even exists still. If you wanted to destroy it yourself, I would help you."

Sonic's eyes widen and his face reddens. "W-Why would you say that? I'd never…"

The biohog chuckles. "Because I want to."

The cobalt male gives him a suspicious look. "You're not trying to sweet talk me into protecting you from Knuckles, are you?"

The striped hedgehog frowns at him. "No, I've already accepted that."

Sonic's gaze softens. "Why did you tell such a thing to Towers?"

Shadow knows it's time to talk about it.

"I questioned him about what happened to you when you were arrested the first time," he says.

Sonic's eyes shrink a little. "Y-You…"

"I wanted to know what you meant about the scientists," he elaborates. "I questioned Towers and got those answers."

Sonic looks down, blue ears pinning back. "So Towers still has the videos."

Shadow frowns, concern lightly visible in his expression. "The files said they were experimenting on your Dark Chaos energy. They were sending the data to an unknown source, and no one knows who has your information."

Sonic shifts in his mate's lap and looks away. "I...don't want to talk about this."

"Are they dead?"

The hero bites his lip. "I don't know...I went Dark."

Shadow breathes out slowly. "Well, if they're not," he says, earning a confused look from his mate. "I'll make sure to change that."

There's a bit of Dark Chaos energy that courses through Sonic, making him shudder and look away with a pink face.

"You...shouldn't…"

His suspicions were confirmed. "You really do enjoy it."

Sonic glares at him. "That's not… I'm not like that. It's just…" he stops, turning even redder.

"What?" Shadow tilts his head, black ears quirking up. Sonic lets out a shaky huff.

"It's just you," he murmurs, embarrassed. "It's…just when you…"

He can't get it out, but it clicks in the biohog's head what he's trying to say.

He pulls Sonic closer to him, pressing a kiss on his cheek.

_'You like when I hurt people for you.'_

Sonic looks extremely worried now. He's heavily flushed, and his ears are folded back. "It's not _me_. It's my energy. I just…" he pauses, his voice getting smaller. "I just like...I don't know…being protected?"

Shadow frowns at this, a new realization suddenly dawning on him.

"Has anyone ever protected you like I have?"

The hero looks up at him with wide eyes. "N-Not really. You were the first person to ever save me from anything." He looks away with a flush, voice heavy as if he were choked. "I like…the idea of someone being so angry I was hurt, that they would kill someone for me…" He looks down, holding his face._"Chaos _what is wrong with me?"

Shadow blinks a couple times, processing this.

Then, he chuckles.

Sonic looks up at him in surprise. "W-What?"

"You," the ebony hog smirks.

Sonic stares at him, his face becoming confused. "What do you mean, _me?"_

Shadow leans forward and kisses him gently, making the hero jump and stare with glittering emerald irises. Shadow tilts his head, grabbing the back of Sonic's and pulling him closer to deepen the kiss.

The blue hedgehog gives in, closing his eyes and letting himself be pulled closer. His legs fall in a straddle over ebony thighs, his hands falling on just as dark shoulders. Shadow runs his free hand down to the small of a blue back, making Sonic arch and whine breathlessly into their mouths.

_'You didn't answer my question,' _Shadow hears through their thoughts, chuckling against Sonic's lips and making him shiver. He bites them, grabbing ahold of the hero's bottom lip and pulling lightly on it. Sonic groans, his fingers digging into the others shoulders. They meet eyes again, before Shadow leans forward once more and smashes their lips together roughly.

Sonic melts, body shuddering in his hold, a growing, warm pressure building in between his legs.

_'Stop,' _he can barely even think straight. Shadow chuckles for a third time and his mind goes fuzzy.

At least he listens.

He pulls back and they give each other opposite looks; Sonic frustrated and flustered, Shadow cocky and proud of himself.

Sonic opens his mouth to say something, but Shadow cuts him off.

"Don't give up your energy," he states.

Sonic blinks, frowning uncomfortably. "Why are you-?"

"Don't," Shadow stops him again, "give up your energy. I don't want to break the bond."

The hero goes still.

* * *

The silver hedgehog lands in crouch, light yellow fire dancing off of him, pieces of the ceiling falling down around him. As he stands, he turns his head and sees the figure of a grey hedgehog standing by the window, looking out of the office-like room.

"Found you," he says.

The grey hedgehog turns to face him and grins.

"Silver the Hedgehog," the older male greets, his voice deep and soft like velvet. "You're not supposed to be here."

The telekinetic glares furiously at him. "So it really _is_ you," he snaps. "You're the one responsible for all this."

The grey hedgehog laughs. "That's quite an adorable line. Tell me, instead of wasting _time _hunting me down, why didn't you go to Sonic?"

Silver huffs irritably. "I can't directly meddle with these things; you would know that if you understood how time travel works."

_"Hahaha!" _the grey hedgehog laughs loudly. "So the Servants failed after all! My, things are going _much _better than planned."

"_Who _are you?!" Silver yells, patience gone. "What are you trying to achieve?!"

"Ha…" the hedgehog smiles ominously, his orange eyes glowing in the dark room. "You have...no idea…"

* * *

He didn't know what to say.

Shadow wanted to keep the bond. There was no lie in his words.

"...why?" is all Sonic can ask quietly, unable to understand how he felt from this.

Shadow reaches up and runs his thumb over one the others flushed cheek, frowning as if he was thinking hard. "I've made my decision. At first, I thought my feelings were fabricated, but we've obviously had these feelings before, correct?"

"Shadow…"

"...even if my actions are being persuaded by my energy, I know how I feel inside," the biohog continues. Sonic clenches his teeth and looks away.

"Do you really mean that?" the hero whispers. "Would you have even tried to reach out to me if it weren't for our bond?"

"I don't know," Shadow sighs, turning Sonic's head to meet his gaze. "You claim everything happens for a reason…do you think this was meant to happen?"

Sonic looks down, an honest expression on his face. He _was_ really considering it.

"Maybe," he says after some time. "I guess you have a point. We've been having deja vu like crazy, and Zonic is here. This fight with Eggman seems different than our other fights. It seems like a conspiracy."

"Then you've thought about it as well," Shadow hums. "You know this revolves around our bond, and your immortality."

"...that…" Sonic starts hesitantly. "I've tried not to think about it, but if I really am the heir to the Royal family, I'm going to have all of Mobius after me."

"Will they expect you to take the crown?"

Sonic flinches. "I hope not. I don't know what anyone will feel about it. I'm sure they expect me to…I... I don't like politics..."

He could sense the other's discomfort. "We can look into your family and the Chaos Born, first."

Sonic looks up quickly, face reddening. "You…are serious? You really want me to…"

"Can't you sense lies?" Shadow smirks. "You know I'm being honest with you."

The hero blushes darkly, looking conflicted. "So...are you seriously asking me out?"

"Yes."

He wasn't expecting such a blunt, quick answer.

"Shadow…" Sonic sighs, closing his eyes. "Why so sudden?"

"Too fast for you?" the biohog chuckles, feeling around blue hips and making the hero huff and glare at him.

"Are you really serious? After all that stressing over what I'm going to do?"

Shadow feels a little guilty. Sonic can sense it.

"I know you're worried about being immortal, but you have to accept it. Obviously there's a reason for it. Even if you do not want the bond, I will still follow the rules and work with you," the striped hog says softly. "I will still claim you are mine."

Sonic darkens. "You're so possessive."

"You enjoy it," Shadow smirks back.

They stare at each other for a minute, before Sonic sighs again and looks away. "If I accept, you have to make an Oath."

"I figured you would say that," the biohog sighs. "I'm more than prepared for that."

"That means you have to get Knuckles's approval," the hero adds. "He has to be there for the Oath."

That…was going to be difficult.

"I'm not saying I don't…" Sonic starts, a bit embarrassed, "have the same feelings as you. I have since before you lost your memory…" He pauses, flushing. "I know Sally and I don't have a chance anymore, so I guess that's why I feel better about this than before, but…"

"You can't trust me," Shadow points out. Sonic frowns.

"Yes and no? More like I trust you now, but I don't know if you'll ever…change, or…"

_'Lose my memories again.'_

The hero looks up as he hears this, ears falling back. "I'm…sorry, Shadow."

"I don't blame you," the biohog says gently. "I fear the same thing, but, I have that camera…"

Sonic looks up.

"...and I can swear on Maria's name I would never change like that. If I do, you have a right to put me away." The hero seems both surprised and anxious about this.

"I could never…"

Shadow raises a brow. "Then what is going to be my Oath?"

Sonic gives him a small smile. "Will you agree to it even if I don't tell you?"

Ah, he understands.

"Yes, then I won't ask."

The hero seems warmed by this. He's smiling happily for the first time in a while, emerald eyes sparkling. "You're seriously going to do this?"

Shadow shrugs. "Why not? I've made up my mind."

"You never really explained what your feelings are," his mate points out with a tiny grin.

Shadow's brows furrow, his eyelids falling halfway.

Sonic doesn't even realize what's happened when he's suddenly on his back, the Ultimate Lifeform pinning him down with a smirk.

"What do _you_ think?"

Sonic turns red, and then he frowns and pushes himself up, hesitating when Shadow doesn't let him sit up all the way.

Their noses touch, and before Sonic can scoot back, Shadow grabs the back of his head and pulls him into a kiss.

_"Hah-!" _Sonic gasps against him, his hands grabbing him and holding on for dear life. Shadow's knees slide between his thighs, opening them apart. His free hand reaches under Sonic's back and pulls him up, just as he grinds down into him. The blue hero groans lowly into his mouth.

Pulling away, Shadow smirks at the glaring hero, raising a brow. "Do I need to prove anything to you?"

Sonic breathes out slowly, his gaze softening. "No, I think you've already done that."

They meet eyes again, and Shadow's mind does a spiral.

_'You're beautiful.'_

Sonic's eyes shrink and his mouth opens in shock. Shadow leans forward and kisses him again, this time keeping it short. When he again pulls away, his mate looks _extremely_ embarrassed. He stays quiet though, unable to express his reaction in words, so Shadow continues.

_'I've always enjoyed the time you would spend with me, even despite me pushing you away. You may remind me of her, but I can assure you the way I feel about you is something I've never felt before.'_

Sonic's ears fall a little, his expression faltering. "Why didn't you tell me before?"

_'I didn't understand, or I was just a coward.'_

"At least you're admitting it," the hero responds softly, making Shadow tilt his head. "I seriously thought you hated me."

"Never," the biohog says quietly.

Sonic meets his eyes again, despite his own being shaky. "You really want to keep the bond? You really want everyone to know?"

"They can know we're dating," Shadow explains, making Sonic look stunned. "They don't need to know about the bond yet."

"You really _are _asking me out…" Sonic murmurs.

"You haven't given me a definitive answer."

Silence. Sonic looks down.

_'I'll have care of you,' _Shadow thinks to him, leaning forward to kiss his forehead. _'I promise. Without your influence I would have murdered those jackals anyway. I will always refuse to let anyone get away with hurting you.'_

"I...believe you," the hero mumbles. "It's just...crazy… I never thought you would…"

Shadow sighs. "I've made a lot of mistakes. Not being honest with you was the biggest one. None of this would have gotten so bad had I just told you the truth."

"I respect that," the blue male smiles tiredly. "You telling me this, I mean. I think I'm going to say yes."

Shadow blinks. "Are you serious?"

Sonic flushes and shrugs. "Y-Yeah. You're going to take the Oath without knowing what it's going to be, and you've admitted countlessly how sorry you are and have proven it." He watches Shadow stare blankly in shock. "I...trust you."

* * *

The doctor frowns at the sound of her heels as she enters the room. "Just who are you, exactly?" he asks angrily as he turns in his chair to face her.

She was a white cat with a purple dress, cyan colored highlights in her silky hair, her eyes a bright yellow.

She smirks at him.

"My name is Cerys. Since this will be the last time you see me, I don't mind if you know." She frowns suddenly, raising a brow. "I see you kept one of the jackals alive. Is that Infinite?"

Eggman frowns. "His name is Zero. I have plans to use him for a project."

The girl cracks a smile. "That's why I'm here again, doctor. Since our last deal went smoothly, I'm here to offer one more."

The human studies her carefully. "You want him?"

"Yes," she beams at him. "Him, and all your research into the Phantom Ruby and the Ruby itself. I need them in another dimension where they don't exist."

"The true Prime?"

She freezes, her eyes widening. "W-What? How did you...?"

He scowls. "Now I know _who_ you are, miss Cerys. You're that _witch _from the true Prime dimension. What are you doing _here_?"

Her eyes flash orange and narrow sharply. "You are _not_ supposed to know that information. I suppose my cousin was right to want to snipe you out."

"That..._creature," _Eggman growls. "I've met him. He thinks he's so sneaky, but he underestimated me. He's been stalking Sonic, making interferences and both helping him and hurting him throughout specific points in his life."

Cerys crosses her arms. "Yes, we have. We've been jumping from dimension to dimension, trying to prepare to go back to the true Prime universe. We've seen many different Sonic's with many different lives, but this one is important."

"Because everyone thinks this is the Prime universe," the doctor slams his fist down. "What _are_ you creatures? I _will _find out."

She smiles, her fluffy tail swishing behind her. "You've had a good run, doctor. Would you like to hear now what your reward will be?"

He scowls.

"I'll tell you some _very _important information you might want to hear in exchange for what I asked," her voice hardens. "Information about the new future of this dimension, this universe, and…" her smile sharpens, "how _long_ you have left to _live_."

* * *

_"Shadow!"_

_"Ha ha ha!"_

Rouge grins. Knuckles scowls. Zonic angrily sips at his coffee.

"I've never heard him laugh like that," the bat says, tilting her head towards the bedroom door. She puts two plates of breakfast down for her two guests, giving them a dirty smile. "Don't be so harsh on them."

Knuckles bites into his toast with a scowl as Zonic answers her. "We can_not_ address this matter lightly."

"I'm not even mad at Sonic," Knuckles huffs. "It's that asshole he's bonded to."

"_I'm_ frustrated with Sonic," Zonic mutters.

"Okay," Rouge sighs in irritation. "I get it, but you boys are a little over three months too late. Sonic and Shadow have handled this great on their own, so there's no point in either of you getting too arrogant."

"They have _not _handled this on their own," Zonic grumbles. "You have no idea how severe this situation is. Get them out here, _now. _We've been patient enough."

Rouge glares darkly at him. "Sweety, I've put up with your attitude this far, but I've been quite stressed lately dealing with these two, so I don't have much more room for anyone else. You better watch your mouth if you think-"

"Hey," Knuckles cuts her off, putting up his large hands to stop both mobians from fighting. "Commander, Sonic isn't exactly in peak emotional state right now. She's right when we need to be easy on him. As for Shadow," he looks at her now, frowning. "Killing the jackals for Sonic is one thing, but this is the second time he's let something fucking terrible happen to him, and the first thing…"

"_Knuckles_," she tries to cut him off.

"...the _first _thing he did _himself_. I need to hammer in his head what kind of position he's in and just how much he's fucked up. Then they _both _need to sit down and learn what the Chaos Born _really_ are."

Rouge goes quiet, sighing.

"I need to leave as soon as possible," Zonic reminds him. "I need to find Silver."

"Right," the echidna sighs, "but just give them a minute. They need to hear the story from you, but Sonic is probably in heat. Let's just wait."

* * *

"You need to be quiet or your friends will hear you," Shadow whispers into his ear. Sonic has a fawn hand over his mouth, huffing and panting, trying to keep his cries muffled.

The shower water was almost too hot now, and the ebony hog almost dared to consider turning it down. Sonic glared at him.

_'Don't.'_

Sonic took _ungodfully _hot showers. A degree less than hell's fire was 'too cold.'

He currently had the hero pinned against the wet, smooth shower wall, blue legs wrapped tightly around his waist as he thrusted into the shaking form faster than normal. Keeping his motions quick paced and hard, he watched Sonic melt into warm pudding in his arms, grunting and whimpering and weakly mewling his mate's name, glaring at him with glowing emerald eyes, his fur a darker blue than normal.

Shadow leans forward and kisses the hero's hand clamped over his mouth.

_'I love you.'_

Sonic's broken cry is muffled, and Shadow pulls him close for three more rough thrusts before the blue male is sobbing in pleasure.

Shadow bites into a blue neck as he orgasms with him, groaning deeply into him. He faintly hears Sonic muffling his cries into his hand, and inwardly curses the fact that they had to be quiet.

_'Maybe I will take you to my cabin…' _he thinks tiredly, pressing sweet kisses along Sonic's muzzle as he removes his hand. _'You can be a loud as you want there.'_

"You…" Sonic pants frustratedly. "You forgot to…"

Shadow's eyes widen.

_'Dammit.' _Again.

He pulls out, sighing as he keeps Sonic propped up against the wall. "I don't think you're actually…"

Sonic sighs. "We gotta ask Knuckles, but you gotta be careful."

They forgot Sonic could get pregnant.

He feels under the hedgehog's tail, sliding his fingers back into him. Sonic arches and shudders.

"I-I-It's t-too l-late…" he whimpers out, legs trembling viciously.

Shadow kisses his nose, pulling his fingers out. "Let's clean up and go talk to them."

His mate gives him a strange look. "You're strangely optimistic…"

"I'm not, but you make me act like this," Shadow says softly and kisses his cheek. Sonic pinkens but smiles.

"You were like this before, too. It's not our energy, it's just you."

Shadow meets his eyes, deep in thought. "I suppose. I'm looking forward to getting my memories back."

There's a knock on the bathroom door. They both scowl.

_"Hey boys, don't take too long, okay?" _Rouge can be heard from outside.

They look at each other and sigh.

* * *

**Notes-**

_We are now on Wattpad, too, thanks to some of our convincing followers, so if you prefer it there go ahead and take a look._

_To wattpad, all of our stories have been uploaded, and covers should be following soon._

_We are going to be dropping Dare the Truth for a little while, due to how busy we've been, so for now there will only be updates on Bonds and Demons. I hope you all understand._

_See you soon!_

_-Anoni_


	21. 20 - Karma

***WARNING FOR THIS CHAPTER***

**Notes -**

_So some of you may be anxious about what Knuckles is going to say and do to Shadow. Sonic certainly is…and for good reason. Please be warned that Shadow is going to go through some dark shit._

_You can always not read anything after the talk if you want to avoid it._

_Or if you've been waiting for Shadow to face his karma and prove he's serious about his feelings for Sonic, you may now be excited._

_Just be careful reading if you're sensitive to heavy scenes like back in Chapter Two._

_-Anoni_

* * *

**Chapter 20 - Karma**

Rouge had grabbed extra chairs from the club floor to bring into the kitchen for all of them. She already had coffee set aside for Shadow and breakfast for Sonic. Knuckles and Zonic stayed quiet as the two hedgehogs and bat seemed to fall into a morning routine, watching them curiously. Sonic turned the tv on as an anxious habit, and as they watched it, Shadow quietly asked about Omega.

"I've got the parts list," Rouge tells him with a smile. "I haven't told Towers yet."

"Don't," Sonic tells her. "The Resistance can get everything for you."

Shadow blinks in surprise and Rouge touches her heart.

"Thanks, Blue. Omega will be grateful."

The hero smiles weakly. He looks pale with their two guests sitting nearby watching him.

They were all stalling.

Zonic is the one to break the ice.

"I think it's time we talked," he says coldly. Knuckles crosses his arms and nods.

"Just about what we discussed before," the guardian tells the Zone Cop. His purple eyes fall on Shadow, who stares back, his grip on his cup tightening. Knuckles frowns at him. "I'll be talking with Shadow later."

Sonic's ears fold back. Rouge gives the echidna an exasperated look, but no one argues.

Shadow figures he deserves as much.

"Fine," Zonic seems irritated by this. "I don't have much time anyway."

Sonic shifts uncomfortably in his seat while Rouge sits between Shadow and Knuckles. The echidna frowns at how close she is and ignores her wink, locking on to the nervous emerald eyes in front of him.

"Sonic," he starts, and the hero smiles nervously, shifting again.

"W-What's up, Knux?"

The guardian sighs. "Don't pretend you're all fine and dandy. I'm not mad at you for killing the jackals."

The hedgehog flinches and looks away.

"I _am_," Zonic speaks up. "You let yourself be controlled by your energy, _again, _fully aware of what you were doing and knowing you could stop it."

Shadow's eyes narrow. "Who said he could?"

"I'd be careful about what you say," Knuckles cuts him off, making the Ultimate Lifeform glare at him sharply.

"I _know_," Zonic snaps, "because that's why I'm _here_." Sonic looks pale. The Zone Cop was usually calm and stoic, but now he was angry. "Sonic, you were perfectly capable of stopping yourself. _You acted of your own will."_

"Is this true, Sonic?" Knuckles asks. Even Shadow looks like he wants to know.

Sonic sighs, sinking into his chair. "Y-Yeah. I just…don't care."

"_Don't_ care?" Zonic questions. "As if you still think it was okay?"

"Are _you _even okay?" Knuckles sounds more worried than angry. "Sonic, I am _more_ than happy those bastards are dead after what they did to you, but I don't like that _you're _the one that killed them. Yeah, you manipulated Shadow's energy too, but he's supposed to be able to deal with that," he says, casting a glare at the biohog. Shadow looks away and Sonic frowns. Knuckles continues with a scowl. "It's just not like you to cross that line like that."

"It's my energy," Sonic states, sitting up. "You know that."

"That's not an excuse," Zonic says lowly. "To _either _of you."

His words are laced with malice. Shadow can feel them cut through him like blades.

"He's right," Knuckles tells them. "You were both very aware of your actions when you were corrupted. You chose to listen to them without a fight because you were stubborn and acting like children."

"That's-" Sonic tries, but his No Zone counterpart stops him harshly, slamming his hand on the table.

"_Sonic, _you _will _admit your mistakes and accept responsibility for them."

The hero shuts up, biting his bottom lip.

"Don't be so hard on him," Rouge cuts in. "He's been through a lot of shit lately. How would _you_ two feel if you were in his shoes?"

Knuckles looks uncomfortable, but Zonic is as hard as a rock. "He needs to understand how serious this situation is. If he's _this_ content with what he's done now, then what is he going to feel down the road? He may look fine, but his energy is _very_ corrupted."

Sonic plays with his empty plate in front of him, spinning it mindlessly with his hands.

Knuckles sighs. "It's the truth. No more bullshit. So much is going wrong right now."

"Exactly," the Zone Cop agrees. "That brings us as to why I'm here," he continues, watching Sonic and Shadow both look over at him. "Shadow, Silver recently visited you in a dream, correct?"

Sonic is expectantly surprised. He looks at Shadow questioningly, and the biohog sighs.

"Yes."

Sonic frowns.

_'Silver did what? Why didn't you tell me?'_

Shadow meets his look. _'We haven't exactly had the time.'_

Sonic makes an understanding face, then blinks and realizes they shouldn't be talking like this in front of others.

Zonic and Knuckles are watching them carefully, as if they know, but they don't call them out on it. Instead, the Zone Commander frowns.

"Do you know why Silver did that?"

Shadow's ears fold back. "I'm not stupid. I'm aware it has something to do with the future."

Zonic's blue eyes are cold. "Had you not listened to him, you and Sonic would have fought again. At Eggman's base, you two were supposed to fight each other. Those jackals were not supposed to be there, either."

Three mobians look at him in surprise.

"What are you saying?" Rouge exclaims. Looking at Shadow, she stares at him questioningly. "What did he tell you to do?"

Shadow makes a face that looks like a cross between irritation and panic. Only _he_ could pull such a face off, but when Rouge sees this she knows she's put him on the spot.

Knuckles and Zonic look smug and are for the first time smirking boldly. They know it, but can he even say it out loud?

Sonic's eyes narrow. "Knock it off! Whatever your problem is with Shadow, I don't want to see it!"

His voice is sharper than what they're used to hearing. Both look guilty and Shadow and Rouge are a little stunned.

Sonic looks upset, and Knuckles runs a hand over his head. "That's fine, Sonic, but you have to understand why I'm ticked? For once stop being stubborn and _listen_."

Sonic tenses, his hands balling into fists. Shadow looks just as bothered, both wanting to avoid this for the same reason.

Knuckles goes on, only addressing Sonic as if no one else were there. "You're always getting yourself into trouble, not realizing how much it affects everyone around you. People worry about you, Sonic, do you know that? Do you know that the _real _reason Tails is distant from you is because you keep running away? When we lost you to Eggman we all lost our minds. None of us could think straight. All we could think about was what that monster was doing to you."

Sonic swallows and looks away, his foot tapping under the table.

"Then when we do get you back, you go Dark and then start running away from us," the guardian goes on, his voice dancing between frustration and something sad. "Then you go missing _again_, and _again, _and it's so stupid! How can someone be so damn selfless and selfish at the same time?!"

Sonic stands up, a nerve struck, his hands slamming on the table. "No one ever wants me around when I _am_ there! Do you really think I believe that?!"

Knuckles looks taken aback. "What are you talking about? Why would you-?"

"Why _wouldn't _I?" the hero glares at him. "You guys didn't notice the first time I left! I was going out on a mission that Sally assigned me personally. Then I got kidnapped and no one noticed until Eggman said something two weeks later. Did you all just think I was _fine?! _That I bolted? That I…" he stops when he realizes he's breaking, and he shuts his mouth, fists clenched tight.

Everyone is surprised by his outburst. Knuckles the most. "Sonic…we…"

"Tell me that isn't true," the hero says lowly. "Tell me, Knuckles. I'll know if you're lying."

The echidna closes his eyes and looks down.

"I knew it," the hedgehog groans, rubbing his forehead. "That's what he said, too. He said you guys were mad that I didn't come back. You all assumed I was being stupid or something. He waited for you guys to get worried before he ended up telling you he had me." When the echidna looks up and meets his eyes, Sonic's are glossy. "You guys didn't care."

The silence is heavy and tense. Sonic takes in a shaky breath and looks away. "I told myself you guys were looking for me. That he was lying to make me feel bad. I wish I had this ability before. Maybe I wouldn't be so stupid…"

"Blue," Rouge speaks up. Knuckles looks like he wants to punch himself in the throat.

"Enough," Zonic sighs, his anger gone and replaced with exhaustion. "Everyone here is in the wrong in some way. I blame myself for not getting here with Silver sooner."

Sonic's gaze softens. Zonic was acting like his normal self again.

"Sonic, I understand and agree with you for being upset, however, they _do_ care about you, and I'm sure you can feel just how guilty everyone is for what's happened," the cop explains, watching Sonic sink back into his chair and look away. "You also have to get it in your head that things are not okay, you can't let your energy control you, and Shadow is in far more trouble for other than what he did and even if _you_ have forgiven him, _we_ have not."

Sonic flushes and looks down. Shadow is at least touched that Sonic would defend him like that.

Even if Zonic is right.

"I don't understand what else he's done wrong," Rouge says with a frown.

"I'll talk to you about it later," Knuckles tells her. "I need to talk with Shadow privately first."

The bat hums, and Shadow crosses his arms.

Zonic sits back in his seat and glares at the Ultimate Lifeform. "He has yet to get his karma."

"That's exactly what I plan to give him," Knuckles says bluntly, watching Shadow look more and more uncomfortable by the second.

Sonic looks worried too.

"We need to go over what's going to happen now," Zonic states, thankfully changing the subject. "You both now know time is being altered. Sonic cannot give up his immortality, and you both must keep the bond."

"What happened in the other timeline?" Rouge asks what they want to know. The Zone Cop looks away.

"Because of their fighting and Eggman's interference, Sonic ends up giving his immortality away. Something goes wrong with the process, and the energy released from him corrupts the Chaos inside the Master Emerald."

They all looked shocked. Zonic continues, looking at his Prime counterpart.

"Silver learned of what happened and came to me to stop it. We tried to get here before you bonded, but we were too late. Now we have to make sure your corrupted energy is cured and Eggman is stopped."

Sonic frowns as Knuckles continues.

"I'll be teaching you two how to use your energy properly, and making sure your bond stays stable," the red male explains. "We can't have any more problems when the future is so easily at stake."

"I see why you're pressed for time, then," Rouge hums thoughtfully. "Where is Silver now?"

"I don't know," Zonic admits worriedly. "Eggman somehow knew we were coming to fix the timeline. He captured Silver and I and sent him through a portal to Chaos knows where. He briefed me in a dream, but all I know is that he's after someone."

This makes everyone frown.

"Sounds like someone told Eggman what was up," Sonic says quietly. "Someone besides Silver knew about it."

"That's what we're thinking," Knuckles says. "We don't know who, though."

"That reminds me," Zonic sighs, looking at Sonic again. "Please be careful from now on. The doctor is going to get desperate. If he captures you again…"

Sonic pales and looks down. "I know."

There's a knock on the door to the Club, and they all look at Rouge.

"That must be my Second in Command," Zonic tells her.

She nods and gets up, motioning for him to follow her to the door.

Sonic and Shadow look at each other, feeling Knuckles's stare on them.

_'Are you okay?'_

Sonic's voice in his head is soft. The biohog blinks slowly.

_'Yes, thank you.'_

Rouge has a shit eating grin on her face as she reappears. Then Zonic walks in, followed by a hedgehog in No Zone gear that looks _exactly_ like Shadow.

Sonic and Shadow look surprised.

"I take it you're Zhadow?" Knuckles asks.

The look-a-like had a visibly different attitude than his Prime counterpart. He had a smirk on, and nodded respectfully at the echidna.

"Yes, I am Zonic's Second in Command," he says with a smile. He looks at Sonic and tilts his head. "It's an honor to see you in person, Sonic the Hedgehog. Zonic talks about you a lot."

The hero blinks in surprise, and Zonic rolls his eyes.

When Zhadow meets the eyes of his Prime self, Shadow expects him to glare. He surprisingly doesn't, but he only receives a nod.

"We need to get moving," Zonic says then, looking at Knuckles and nodding. "Thank you for everything, Guardian. The No Zone is in your debt."

Zhadow snorts and smirks. "You never thank _anyone_."

Knuckles gives the Commander a small smile. "_I_ should be thanking you. Keep us informed."

"We will," Zonic agrees. "The moment we have answers we will come back. Hopefully it isn't too late by then."

* * *

"So…" Rouge breaks the silence. The Zone Cops left as soon as their business was concluded. "Do you think they're together, too?"

"Probably," Sonic admits, taking the water she hands him. "I'm not even surprised anymore."

"I need to talk with Shadow," Knuckles cuts in, making them all tense. "Now."

"You're not fighting here," Rouge tells him with a frown. "I have a basement that's unfinished. Take your business there."

Sonic gives them both anxious looks. Shadow feels his hands get clammy.

"That works fine," the echidna nods. "I'm going to need you to take Sonic off for the day."

The white bat nods. "We need to get parts for Omega, anyway. We can leave now."

Sonic looks between them, ears falling back. "Shadow said he would take an Oath, Knuckles."

Both jewel hunters look at him, and then Shadow with mixed expressions.

Knuckles raises a brow at the biohog, who nods a bit shakily. "On what condition?"

Rouge looks excited. "You asked him out?"

Shadow looks at her and nods, and Sonic blushes as he meets Knuckles's questioning frown.

"So that's it," the guardian says, crossing his arms. "You can't fully trust him, even though you claim to forgive him."

The hero scowls. "He offered on his own, Knuckles. I accepted because of that."

"You think that makes me feel any better?"

The tension in the room is so thick you can see it.

"Alright," Rouge sighs, seeing as they shouldn't delay anything anymore. "Sonic, let's go get those parts. I also might need you to come see Towers with me, since he's probably really angry."

Sonic slowly pulls his glare at Knuckles away to give her a tired look. He can tell she doesn't want to leave them alone, either.

"Okay," he hums quietly.

* * *

Sonic was able to pull him aside while Knuckles and Rouge talked for a minute privately. They stood by the very tables they had fought by three months ago, and as Shadow opens his mouth to say something, Sonic leans up and kisses him.

_'Don't let him hurt you too much.'_

Shadow sighs, meeting Sonic's eyes as they pull apart.

"I doubt I have any say in the matter."

Sonic looks at him pitifully. Any other time Shadow would have been angry with such an expression directed at him, but it coming from _Sonic_ just made him feel bad.

"I'll _fully_ forgive you after this," the blue male says with a weak smile. "As long as you take the Oath."

Shadow chuckles dryly. "You shouldn't reward me for facing my consequences."

The hero kisses him again.

_'I love you, too.'_

Hearing those words in his head was enough to calm him a bit, and he pulls Sonic close to him, kissing him back deeply.

They're both startled apart when Rouge whistles at them loudly, turning red and glaring at her.

They pale when they see Knuckles scowling at them.

It was time to go.

* * *

Shadow swallowed.

They stood there in the dimly lit, cold and eerie empty basement, just waiting for Sonic's energy signature to get far enough away.

Shadow knows he's going to be attacked, but he was sure he's never been this anxious in his life.

...no, he's felt this way before, it was just a long time ago.

"Do you know how to put up a Chaos Block?" Knuckles asks him suddenly, his voice quiet and unreadable.

Shadow's throat goes dry. A block would prevent Sonic from hearing or feeling anything through their link.

"Yes," he answers slowly.

Knuckles stays unreadable. "Do it."

He knew it. He has a feeling the Guardian of the Master Emerald would know if he does it or not, and that he was making him do it because he doesn't want Sonic to know. Doesn't want to stress him out.

He sighs and puts up the block. He has to admit it makes him more nervous.

What does he do in this situation? He can't just fight back, considering he was in the wrong, but…

When the block is up successfully, Knuckles pops his namesakes. "Take off your inhibitors."

Shadow's eyes widen.

If he takes them off, he'll exert too much energy, then lose it all. With the block up, Sonic wouldn't go into heat, but Shadow would feel the effects of it.

Knuckles glares at him, purple irises ominous. "Take them off."

...he understood why. He had gotten angry with Sonic for taking the inhibitors and not being back before midnight.

He feels shaky inside. This is definitely a strange feeling. He doesn't want to admit the name of it to himself.

He couldn't do that when he was so guilty, anyway.

He slowly reaches for the rings around his wrists. Knuckles's hands fall to his sides, eyes going to the hedgehog's wrist.

Shadow makes another terrifying realization. It must flash in his eyes because Knuckles looks at him and smirks.

"That's an interesting reaction," he comments smoothly. Shadow's blood goes cold when the guardian adds, his smirk growing: "At least I can see why he's attracted to you."

_No…_

He wouldn't.

There was no way.

Not this guy. Not this Holy Guardian of Chaos.

He wouldn't…would he?

"Take _off_ your inhibitors, hedgehog."

The ebony hedgehog's heart is pounding. This is what he meant by karma? It couldn't be true…

No, he couldn't think like that. His hands are shaky as he unclips the first one, letting it fall and cling lightly to the floor. He can already feel his energy begin to grow hot, and he grimaces at the outflow that he can't stop.

_**'You're finally getting what you deserve.'**_

_That voice!_

It was the same voice from before.

He doesn't have time to react to it as he hears the other step forward. His eyes shrink when he realizes Knuckles is not only bigger but taller than him, and he feels himself go rigged when he has to back away and look up at him.

"The other one," the guardian growls. Shadow's back hits the wall, and Knuckles pins him there, glaring down at him. "Take it off."

_**'That emotion? That's fear, baby. It's nice to feel it coming from you. He's gonna fuck you up.'**_

The sudden appearance of the voice was _not _welcome in this situation at all.

He hated that it was right.

The realization of what Knuckles and Zonic meant by _karma _threw itself into his brain like a bullet. They wanted him to go through what Sonic did, and Knuckles both loved Sonic enough to go that far, and hated Shadow to the core.

_He's going to…_

_**'Hahahaha!'**_

His wrist is suddenly grabbed and the ring is ripped off. His eyes go wide and his heart leaps up into his throat as he watches Knuckles lift his arm up, mouth hovering over his wrist.

"Let me ask you something," Knuckles says softly, voice both quiet and threatening. "What were you thinking when you did it to him?"

Shadow realizes he's shaking.

_What is this? Why can't I fight back? Why do I feel like this?_

Knuckles presses his lips on his wrist. Shadow finches, trying to step forward suddenly, fight instincts taking over. The echidna growls and lifts a knee, lifting and pounding him into the wall.

_Oh, fuck._

Shadow's head goes light. Knuckles smirks.

"What were you thinking, Shadow?"

"I…"

Something was _so_ very wrong with his energy. He felt naked without his inhibitors, and extremely vulnerable in a way that he hadn't felt since white lab coats and terrifying experiments. He could feel the pain he felt at the beginning of their bond, a pain that drove him to do what he had.

He watches with wide, scared eyes as the red male kisses his wrist again. Sonic had shown him how wonderful messing with his essence could be, but…in the wrong hands…

He sees teeth flash and he tenses, a weak, choked sound leaving him.

The guardian chuckles. "Are you scared? You, the self proclaimed _Ultimate Lifeform_? So edgy and arrogant, so perfect and no one can defeat you…"

Shadow feels his blood boil then freeze up again.

"Why aren't you fighting me?" the echidna asks, lifting his knee up in between black furred legs, putting heavy pressure in between them. Shadow's mouth falls open then snaps shut, a choked sound escaping through his sharp teeth. Knuckles leans forward and kisses the side of his muzzle.

_Oh gods…_

No, this could _not_ actually be happening. Why was he reacting this way? What was even happening anymore?

"You're hyperventilating," Knuckles whispers in his ear. "I almost feel bad."

Was he? His breath was quick and heavy and his eyes were having a hard time focusing.

A strong thumb presses on his wrist, and Shadow bends in the guardian's hold, a low shout leaving him. His face turns red and his legs pull up to try and cover himself. His red eyes glowed and his fur flashed white.

_"Ahhh…"_

He shudders and pants out, his body hot and bothered, and he shakes his head. He reaches up with his free hand and pushes lightly on the echidna's chest. _Chaos _this dude was broad.

He keeps shaking his head, his legs trembling violently. He can't say it out loud, but his lips are moving, only mouthing one short word.

_No._

"Haha," Knuckles smirks. "There it is." He presses down on his wrist again, and Shadow gasps and throws his head back, legs kicking violently.

_"AHhhh!"_

_No, wait…!_

"I can't believe you have the nerve to beg," the echidna sneers in his ear, grabbing his throat with his free hand. Shadow makes another strange sound, his eyes widening. The taller male glares down at him, eyes sharp as knives. "Didn't he do the same thing?"

A terrible memory flashed back into his head. He winces, and Knuckles lifts his knee more, lifting Shadow up the wall and putting more pressure between his legs.

_"A-Ahn-! I'm-!" _Shadow exclaims in surprise. He can hardly keep himself in. If the echidna does one more thing he's going to _actually _be naked in front of him.

His face is hot and he knows it's stained red. He feels pathetic and awful. He knows this is the goal of this. To make him feel exactly what Sonic felt.

Knuckles meets his eyes coldly. "Do you know _what_ I can do to you? I'm the Guardian of Chaos. I can make you feel like a Dark Chaos Born in heat. I can make you do whatever I want because I am one with the Controller." He leans closer, and Shadow chokes on his breath. "Sonic is literally the only reason I leave the island. You let yourself be controlled because you were too prideful. Then you raped him because you couldn't be responsible and have the balls to come to me!"

Shadow's ears are flat against his head. Knuckles's voice has raised considerably now, and he continues on, getting louder.

"You think because Sonic's fallen for you or supposedly forgiven you means you can get away with what you did? That just because three months have gone by, you're clean? You have dark hopes, edge boy. How does it feel to be completely helpless? Oh, and if you think I'm not going to go all the way," he says, his tone dropping considerably. Shadow swallows. The guardian smirks, his hand leaving his throat and reaching in between his legs. "Rouge joked about Sonic being a screamer. I wonder what you are."

Fingers press on the pressure points that would reveal him. Shadow's mouth falls open again, fear fully visible all over his face.

Knuckles is really going to…

He tries to close his legs. The echidna chuckles. "I'm bigger than you," he whispers into his ear.

The biohog shudders.

* * *

Neither of them can hide their worry. As Sonic runs with Rouge flying at his side, they both share a look of concern.

"Any idea what Knuckles is going to do to him?" the white bat asks, voice drained of any and all optimism. "He wouldn't say."

"I don't know," Sonic admits uneasily. "One time Knuckles, Sally, Nicole, and I went to this really shady place to find a Chaos Emerald. This guy who had it tried to force himself on me," he says shakily. Rouge looks surprised at never hearing this before. Sonic continues, brows deeply knitted together. "Knuckles took the guy away. He didn't hurt him in front of me, but I could just _tell _he did something awful. He never told me what, but I know how protective he is of me."

"He loves you like a little brother," she smiles softly. "Did you really question that before?"

Sonic shrugs as best as he can while running. His light blue inhibitors glowed in annoyance at something, but he couldn't tell what. "I told myself the same thing when Eggman had me. I knew Knuckles cared, but I…" he goes quiet.

She gives him a sad smile. "I know, sweetheart. It must have been hard."

Sonic looks away, fighting the lump in his throat. "I hope Shadow will be okay."

She looks forward, her cyan eyes filled with worry. "He'll be okay. He _does_ kind of deserve it."

Sonic shrugs again. "A little, but it feels off."

"I'm so happy you two confessed," she smiles at him. "So you guys are boyfriends now?"

Sonic blushes and makes a thoughtful expression.

"Y-Yeah, I guess so."

Shadow is his boyfriend.

It was such an interesting statement.

He can't feel him through their link, and as much as it makes him nervous, he knows he has to accept it. Shadow needed to prove he could be trusted, still. If they were originally fated to a bad ending, then he had to be cautious.

He couldn't shake the uneasy feeling he had.

"Let's go get what we need and get to Tails," he decides to change the topic. "Does Towers know anything?"

"He knows Omega is in critical condition and that your sweet brother is fixing him," she says. "That's about it."

Sonic sighs. "It might just be easier to kill him."

She laughs. "It would make Shadow _very_ happy."

The blue hero smiles. "Yeah, I know."

* * *

He never considered he would be in this position ever in his life.

Sonic probably hadn't, either.

"You know this might be more painful for you than it was for him," Knuckles tells him. "Light Chaos males don't secrete anything when in heat."

Shadow grits his teeth and looks away. He was slowly starting to piece together what Sonic must have felt like when he was in this position.

It made him feel worse.

"I'm still going to fuck you, though."

The words make him choke. He looks at the echidna with wide, shaking red eyes, legs again trying and failing to pull up to protect himself. A red knee lifts him up more, the echidna scowling at him.

"Looking at you now just makes me wonder if he looked as scared as you do."

Then suddenly he's being dropped.

He shouts as his rear hits the cold cement floor, pain blossoming through his back from the impact. His ankles are grabbed and he's pulled away from the wall, falling backwards and his quills forced to the side as he's dragged. Knuckles climbs in between his legs, grabbing his wrists with one hand and pinning them above his head. His back is lifted up, and before he can even process what's happening, their hips are being ground together.

The friction sends his energy spiraling through him, pressure building between his legs and pleasure coating his mind somewhere amidst the panic.

"Ahn-!" he gasps, arching and panting out. He's shaking in the echidna's hold, unable to move much and completely at the guardian's mercy. Unfortunately, Knuckles didn't seem to have mercy.

"What happened to that ego of yours?" Knuckles asks in his ear, thrusting against him again. Shadow's mouth falls open and he groans, mind starting to go crazy. The echidna glares at him. "You're not supposed to enjoy this, you know."

Why does it feel-

He cuts that thought off immediately. He won't admit it. No matter how much he feels it.

"I-I-" he pants, before once again he's grounded into. _"A-Ahh-!"_

He snaps his teeth together.

The echidna grabs one of his arms and pulls it down, bringing his wrist to his mouth again.

_"No-!" _

The call is leaving him without him even thinking. He arches and tries to pull away, and Knuckles smirks.

"Yes, like that," he whispers. "Let's see you struggle the way he did."

Then he bites into his wrist.

Shadow screams, white hot energy coursing through him violently. His legs kick at the ground, his body shakes and spasms uncontrollably. He tries to twist and escape out of the guardian's hold, but his limbs turn into jelly.

The pressure in his lower stomach and in between his legs gets too strong.

_"A-AH-! I'm-!"_

His orgasm is the final straw that snaps him. He screams again, his voice cracking, his body shaking hard, mind completely gone.

Knuckles holds on even after he's done, and Shadow melts into a pleading, whimpering mess.

_"L-Let…" _he weakly mewls, trying to pull his tingling arm away. _"I…"_

The echidna waits a little longer before letting go. He licks the area he's bitten, as if he had some small sliver of guilt for being so harsh. It was gone very quickly, though.

"I'm not done with you," the red male says in a threatening voice. "We've got _much_ more to talk about."

* * *

Tails smiles at them as he opens his door. "Sonic," he greets nervously.

The hero smiles weakly at him. "H-Hey. How's Omega?"

The fox leads them through his home and into his lab where the robot's head was sitting. "I've got him online, but he's a little angry."

Rouge smiles at that, walking over to the robot head plugged into the fox's computer. "I can't blame him. How's it going, big guy?"

Omega's red eyes have a flicker to them, but they glow their best. "TELL ME THE JACKALS HAVE BEEN KILLED."

She laughs and Sonic scratches the back of his head.

Tails chuckles. "He's been complaining about their leader for tearing him up."

"I'll let you know later," Rouge tells the bot. "Sonic dealt with the Commander for us and is helping us get parts to restore you."

The robot beeps in appreciation. "SONIC, YOU CONTINUE TO EARN MY RESPECT."

The blue male shares a smile with Rouge. "I'm just doing what I should."

* * *

_"A-Ahhhh…"_

He was going crazy.

At some point Knuckles had taken off his gloves and forced two fingers down his throat, coating them for a difficult job. Now both fingers were inside the ebony body, thrusting and stretching and fucking up into him as hard as they could.

There's a brush against his prostate and he tenses up, body arching up and a strangled sound leaving him.

"You should have gotten him out of there," Knuckles growls in his ear. "You let yourself be seduced by his energy, and now he has blood on his hands."

Shadow cries out as his spot is hit, his dick in between them untouched and aching painfully for stimulation. Of course, Knuckles wouldn't give that to him.

"He got hurt," the guardian growls. "Your priority should have been to get him to safety and stabilize him."

Another hard thrust shakes his whole body.

"You hurt him so much…" Knuckles goes on. "He considered giving up his life, his immortality for you. You even threatened to kill him…"

The striped hedgehog whimpers, unable to hold it in.

"You don't deserve his forgiveness."

Red fingers are pulled from his body and he's suddenly being rolled over. His eyes shrink as his body is lifted up, forcing him on his hands and knees with the larger male over him.

He feels something much larger than a finger prod his entrance.

"A-Ah…"

This was it. His fingers tighten against the ground, his heart slamming against his chest.

_'Sonic…'_

It really had been this bad, hadn't it? Or was it worse? He didn't know yet. He was honestly afraid to.

"Let's take your Oath right now," Knuckles tells him, teasing his entrance but not pushing in yet. "Listen carefully, edge boy."

Shadow can feel his fur mat with sweat. His tail weakly attempts to cover him and he swallows. After realizing the guardian wants a response, he nods shakily.

"You will _never_ hurt Sonic again in any way. If you do, do you know what's going to happen to you?"

The biohog grits his teeth. When the other waits for an answer, he shakes his head.

"You'll get your karma back, _tenfold_. I won't hesitate to bend you over again, either."

Shadow feels more pressure being applied to him and he sucks in his breath.

"Do you understand?" Knuckles whispers into his folded ears.

He nods, body trembling. More pressure is added.

"Say it."

He flinches, his thighs squeezing the others. "Y-Yes…" He's surprised by how weak and soft his own voice sounds.

"Yes what?" Knuckles asks with a louder tone, thrusting forward just enough to get his tip almost completely in. Shadow keens, head falling back and a weak cry leaving him.

"I...I u-understand-d," he pants out.

Knuckles pushes in a little more. "Do you swear to that as an Oath, for Sonic?"

He's pushing in more and more. Shadow is making soft, tiny noises, face flushed darkly and his body nearly falling. Knuckles holds him up.

"Do you swear that as an Oath?"

His eyes squeeze shut. Knuckles was being slow, but Shadow hadn't been slow with Sonic. Why?

It still hurt, but somehow felt good. It was a complicated feeling, one that made his legs try to cross and his body become hot and weak.

A harder thrust makes him cry out embarrassingly loud. He hears a chuckle in his ears and he shivers.

"What's wrong? Can't think straight?"

His body was so far gone. He was so aroused it _hurt._

_"I told you not to enjoy this."_

The echidna thrusts in the rest of the way, hitting his prostate in the process.

_"AH!"_

He was seeing white.

_"F-Fuck I-!"_

He was babbling.

_"C-Chaos I can't-!"_

Knuckles waits for him to recover, holding the biohog's tip tightly now to prevent him from hitting his peak again. Not yet.

Shadow bites the tip of his tongue, blood seeping between his teeth and to his lips.

It was so _hot _and he felt so _full. _He couldn't move a meter without it either hurting or feeling..._really _good. He could feel how deep the echidna was, how big he was, and he suddenly becomes overwhelmed, his words turning into uncontrollable whimpers.

_'S-Sonic…'_

"You should let him do this to you," the echidna jokes, chuckling again. "It'd make him happy."

He pulls back and Shadow knows he's only being held up now completely by the echidna, unable to support his body in any way.

"Let me ask one more time: do you take that Oath?"

He swallows and nods. "Y-Yes-s…"

Then his Chaos energy goes completely crazy. He jolts and cries out, his fur turning white and glowing gold. His mouth drops open when he feels the click.

So that's why Sonic didn't like the Orders…

"Sonic won't feel that until the block is down," Knuckles tells him. "You _won't_ take the block down until I say."

Shadow nods, not really able to think about it much. His fur was still white, and he flushes hard, remembering how he thought it was cute he had fucked Sonic into his Dark form.

He _really_ needed to get his head together.

"You know, I can _almost_ tolerate you like this," the guardian says sarcastically. "When you're acting like this, it's almost adorable."

Then he thrusts forward for the second time, all the way back in the ebony body, and whatever angry retort Shadow had to say was turned into a desperate wail.

_"Ohhhghhh…" _he groans, dropping his head. Knuckles lets go of his length and grabs his wrist again. Shadow notices it's not the same one Sonic had bitten before. His eyes widen when the echidna pulls it back and up enough for his mouth to reach it. _"O-Oh…"_

"Stop enjoying this," Knuckles growls, before biting him.

He was glad Sonic and Rouge weren't here, because his scream would have been heard through the floor.

* * *

He thought they would be done after another orgasm.

They _weren't._

Knuckles didn't say much else besides a few snide jokes and shrewd nicknames again. He was flipped onto his back and fucked again, and then set against the wall and the floor and fucked _again._

They were _still_ on the floor, and it was _still_ going on.

He was pretty sure he begged. He couldn't take anymore. His body was so sensitive now, so wobbly and broken. His voice was gone, his wrists were burning, and his fur was flickering consistently.

_'No...more…'_

Why didn't he stop?

_"I-I'm s-sorry-"_

He didn't know what else to say.

"Are you?" Knuckles asks him quietly.

Shadow nods, ruby eyes glazed over and far gone. Knuckles nods and finishes them both a final time, making the biohog shudder and groan out lowly.

He's finally left alone. He curls up on his side and he has another horrible flashback of Sonic doing the same.

The echidna didn't even say anything.

He just left.

* * *

He didn't move. He passed out, woke up in cold sweat and panic, and then passed out again.

The next time he wakes up, it's by Rouge.

He makes a strange sound when he sees her, his tired eyes blinking rapidly to try and focus and wake up.

She was kneeling down, lifting his head to lay in her lap. "Hi sunshine," she says softly.

She's not mad, but there's a coldness in her tone. She picks up his inhibitors laying nearby and then picks him up as well.

"I don't blame him for doing this to you," she sighs. "I still feel bad for you though."

She carries him out of the basement and he tenses. She presses a kiss on his forehead. "They went out for a run. It's just you and me, Shadow."

He relaxes a little at this, and watches as he's carried into his bedroom, then into the bathroom.

The bath was already filled with warm, soapy water. She sets him in it, running a hand over his striped quills affectionately. "Take it easy. We have time."

She leaves the room, and he soon once again finds himself asleep.

* * *

When he wakes up again, he's in bed.

He sits up slowly, blinking and looking carefully around his room. He was alone, but the door was cracked open slightly.

He still had the block up, so he couldn't feel Sonic's energy and if he was nearby. If he took it down, Knuckles would...

He tenses.

He couldn't deny the echidna fully succeeded in instilling fear into him. It felt wrong to admit it, but he couldn't help but be scared now.

He kicks the sheets off of him and looks at the clock on his nightstand. It was late in the evening. Has Sonic not had a heat because of the block?

That scared him, too. Did Knuckles really have _that_ much power?

He notices a piece of paper on the nightstand and picks it up.

_'Get some rest, sunshine. I took Blue out again to go get Omega - that fox kid put him back together in a day. You have no clean clothes so I put everything in the wash. You'll have to go and switch it all out into the dryer. Don't forget! I'm not washing them again if they start to stink because you left them there._

_'Love you. - Rouge.'_

He sighs and crumbles up the paper.

Wait.

She took Sonic, but…was Knuckles still here? ...and he had no clothes, and he had to get up and go put them in the dryer…

He curses under his breath and grabs a small black blanket from his bed, draping it over his shoulders.

The kitchen floor is cold and annoying. Knuckles isn't out here, but the tv is on. He walks into a little hallway in the back of it and enters the laundry room. He's quick in getting his clothes in the dryer, but then he hears the echidna in the kitchen.

He freezes. He needed to go back through the kitchen to get into his room…

He hates how nervous he is. He could always fight him, right?

He thinks about how cold Rouge was to him...

Maybe just running and locking himself in his room was best.

Just as he presses 'start' on the dryer, Knuckles walks in.

He turns around quickly and they bump into each other. The echidna was holding a damp towel as if he had showered, about to throw it in the washer.

They meet eyes and Shadow visibly tenses.

The echidna raises a brow at him, tossing the towel over his shoulder into the washing machine.

"Thought you finally died."

The biohog turns red and glares weakly at him. He decides it's time to bail and moves to pass him, but his arm is grabbed and he's pushed back into the washer. His breath catches in his throat as he looks up at the guardian, who glares back down at him.

_'Just leave me alone…'_

When the echidna seems to shift closer, Shadow flinches and looks away, fingers curling into fists.

"Good," the guardian says simply. Shadow looks back up in confusion, then shrinks back when Knuckles leans closer, his voice dropping. "Wanted to make sure I broke you enough, edge boy."

Then he's left standing there by himself, his heart hammering in his chest.

Cabin...he still had his cabin…

If he could convince Sonic to move there with him, they could find a way around the Chaos Control thing. Besides, they were a couple now, right? They didn't have to be secretive, he could just…go and get Sonic himself whenever they were apart.

...was he really _that_ afraid to be near the echidna?

He curses under his breath.

Gathering up his courage, he leaves the laundry room and quickly grabs a water bottle from the fridge, ignoring Knuckles watching the tv from the table.

Just as he's about to escape to his room, the guardian stops him with a call.

"You can take down the block now."

Shadow pauses, swallows, then steps into his room and shuts the door.

* * *

When Sonic comes in later, he looks exhausted.

He says nothing as he kicks off his shoes and climbs into bed with him. Shadow was sitting against the wall with a book in his hands, and the blue hero takes the book and puts it aside.

"Take the block down."

Shadow inwardly winces. Even after getting permission he didn't. He didn't want Sonic to feel anything yet.

_'Does he know?'_

It was weird having his thoughts to himself…

"Shadow," Sonic says, making him sigh and look away.

"I don't know if I should…"

"He told me everything."

Shadow grits his teeth. He slowly meets emerald eyes, not knowing what to expect.

"I fought him," the hero looks down. "I'm…really frustrated. A part of me is relaxed now, but another part of me hates that he had to do that to you." He looks up, his stress visible in his eyes. "I think what irritates me the most is the fact that you won't take down the block."

He closes his eyes and sighs.

He turns the block off.

Sonic sucks in his breath sharply, his energy reacting to Shadow's own messed up energy, and the biohog watches him freeze up and close his eyes, reading him and taking it all in.

So, when he was alone with Rouge, Sonic was fighting Knuckles?

The irony left a bitter taste in his mouth.

"You made the Oath," Sonic comments after a minute. "He had asked me what I would make you swear, and I told him, but I didn't think he would make you do it without the Master Emerald." He frowns as he looks up and studies his quiet mate, reading more and more of his emotions.

It was odd to feel fear among them. Shadow only felt a _fraction_ of this when it came to heights…and there was hardly anything else he feared.

Sonic sighs and reaches for him. Shadow accepts him into his arms and they curl up with each other, laying side by side.

"I kicked him in the dick," Sonic says softly once they're comfortable.

Shadow almost smiles, the heaviness of how happy he was to have Sonic back weighing on him.

It's been a long, stressful day.

The hero looks a little surprised as he reaches up and wipes the ebony hog's cheeks with his thumb.

"Shadow…"

He realizes there's tears coming down his muzzle.

Was he really crying?

Sonic pulls him close and kisses his forehead.

"It's okay, buddy. No one can be mad at you anymore. We're gonna start over."

Shadow closes his eyes and buries his face into the hero's chest. Sonic hugs him tightly, murmuring to him gently.

"We're starting over… No one can be mad anymore…"

* * *

**Notes-**

_Holy shit that was hard._

_This chapter was so hard to write, but we've done it. I had to cut some things out to add in later because it was longer than expected._

_So…not expecting that, huh? Beating him up wouldn't have the same impact; they've fought before. Now Shadow is stuck in an interesting scenario, isn't he? _

_Sonic wants to start over though. Omega has been brought back to life. Zonic is searching for Silver again. _

_That's the first time I've ever written Knuxadow…even if it's not _exactly _that :P There is going to be some events that happen now specifically because of what Knuckles has done._

_There are reasons for why certain events are being hidden, especially for Silver's story. Everything will be revealed later on as the story goes. You _have _to have faith in the authors ;D_

_These chapters are so long…_

_Hope the people that were mad at Shadow can feel at least some ease. Give him a break now; he's finally gotten his karma. _

_We got exciting news coming on our twitter on the fifth for those of you who love this story. I'll be posting about it on the next fanfiction update, which is the sixth, so if you're not on twitter you may miss it._

_See you guys in a bit!_

_-Anoni_


	22. 21 - Aftermath Part I

**Chapter 21 - Aftermath Part I**

He had a nightmare about what happened in the basement with Knuckles. He woke up with a gasp, Sonic pulling him into a hug and pressing kisses over his face.

The hero convinced him to get up for a run, and so they gathered up their things at six in the morning and headed out.

It was a little chilly out, but it felt nice on his hot face. He hadn't noticed how cold he was feeling.

Sonic guides him out of the city in a way he's never seen, and he follows him closely, the two nothing but blurs of black and blue. There's a small desert in between Station Square and Central City, and that's where Sonic was headed.

They head north to the strange mountains there, and he recognizes this place as one he hasn't been to in a long time.

His memories of that event were starting to become fond to him.

Sonic must have brought him here because he somehow knew that.

They raced through the pumpkin shaped mountains and zipped on winding rails everywhere. There's competition in their actions, the two naturally falling into their positions as rivals. Confident smirks became loud taunts, and those became laughter or jokes.

They fooled around for a few hours, until they were tired and panting with red, smiling faces.

It felt good to just be them.

* * *

"Where were you?" Rouge asks playfully as they walk in, both heaving from their run. Shadow immediately makes coffee and Sonic smiles and helps their bat friend cook.

"Pumpkin Mountain," he says, watching her tilt her head excitedly.

"That's cute!" she chatters happily. Shadow looks back, waiting on his drink, and sees Omega sitting against the far wall.

"Holy shit."

Sonic chuckles and Rouge grins. "I told you not to doubt foxboy. Omega's as good as new!"

That fast? Maybe he should start being cautious of Sonic's friends after all…

Omega beeps happily. "IT IS GOOD TO SEE YOU, SHADOW. I HEARD THE JACKALS WERE KILLED IN A BRILLIANT FIRE."

Sonic covers his mouth and Shadow tilts his head. Rouge giggles.

"He's only sad that he missed it," the bat tells the two, and Shadow smirks at the robot.

"I'm relieved you're okay, Omega."

Rouge raises her brows. "Wow, he's admitting emotions," she smiles, making Shadow glare at her. She looks at Sonic and winks. "You must be doing something right."

The hedgehogs blush at her words.

Omega is thankfully there to save the day. "I AM GLAD MY DESTRUCTION WAS NOT IN VAIN. THANK YOU, SONIC AND SHADOW."

Rouge pretends to wipe a tear. "Sonic, who knew you'd give both my teammates a character arc. You have my thanks, too."

Sonic laughs lightly. "That's what I do I guess."

Knuckles walks in and Rouge's smile turns dirty. "You look good in the mornings, red."

He gives her an annoyed look. His eyes meet Shadow's for a split second and the biohog turns to make his coffee, cursing himself for feeling like this.

He couldn't be mad at anyone but himself though. Sonic probably felt the same way back when he…

Everyone acts oblivious to the situation, and he's relieved a little.

"Sonic, when was your last heat?" the echidna asks, making the hero flush.

"O-Oh, umm…" Then his eyes widen. "Oh. Yesterday morning."

Shadow freezes. That was an _abnormally_ long time without a heat.

Knuckles sits in a chair at the table and leans back, frowning. "That's not normal."

"What could be causing it?" Rouge asks. Sonic sits down as well, looking as if he was worried.

"There are three possibilities on my mind," the guardian sighs. "One, the Chaos Block is still affecting him, and it should wear out in a few hours. Two, the Mating Season is over, but that's doubtful considering they've barely had a real season. The last reason," he says, looking between the three, "is he's pregnant."

Sonic's face pales. Shadow almost drops his cup of freshly poured coffee.

Rouge sucks in her breath. The echidna's brows furrow.

"No block or protection?"

Sonic and Shadow both tense up nervously. Rouge steps in before he can get mad.

"They just found out about this two days ago," she says. "They didn't know he could get pregnant."

The echidna rolls his eyes. "You guys steal my scrolls and don't even read them all." Sonic looks away guiltily. Shadow doesn't want to sit at the table anymore. Knuckles continues on bitterly. "We'll wait until tonight. If Sonic doesn't go into heat he needs to take a test."

Rouge nods. "Got it. I've got some. What happens if he's not though?"

Knuckles looks at his friend, who looks like he would faint if he stood up. "Then maybe the season did end. I need to get the rest of the documents from Angel Island, although," he stops and thinks out loud, "Zonic said in the past Sonic was in season for seven months straight, right up until he gave up his energy."

"Wait, what," the hero exclaims. "It can last that long?"

The echidna nods. "After the season ends, you can't get pregnant until the next season starts. You get a year in between seasons, but you'll have a short season each month that can last from three days to a week."

"Wait, so it's like a period," Rouge hums thoughtfully.

"In a sense," Knuckles frowns. "These are short opportunities for him to get pregnant outside of the season."

Sonic turns red and covers his face. "I still can't get over that."

The guardian shrugs. "You have the option to have kids with whoever you want. You should appreciate that."

Sonic's flush deepens. Shadow hides his blush behind his coffee cup.

"Aww, you two would have the cutest kids," Rouge grins at them.

"Not really the time for that, is it?" Knuckles sighs. "They have too much corruption in their energy. If Sonic is pregnant the energy could not only kill the child, but hurt him. Most Dark Chaos Born die from this."

They all look worried now.

"So how long is the pregnancy?" Rouge asks. "How long does it take for his heats to stop and for him to start developing symptoms? When does the child get an energy signature?"

She's a little stressed now. The guardian runs a hand over his head. "There are no symptoms, besides morning sickness, fatigue, and his hips will grow wider, his chest might get bigger, but that's it. He won't grow a visible stomach. It takes two to three months into a pregnancy for a male Dark Chaos Born to stop having heats, to start developing very small symptoms, and it takes four months for the child to get an energy signature."

Sonic shifts anxiously. Shadow slowly puts his cup down. Rouge bites her lip.

"How long is the pregnancy?" the bat asks.

"Six months. Corruption will kill the child at five months, and at six or seven months the Dark Chaos Born usually dies from it. It's what it does to their energy," the guardian sighs. "Dark Chaos energy is powered by _deep _and _powerful _emotions. Emotions like love, hatred, anger, fear, sadness, and things like honesty and truth, birth and death, and more twisted things like lust and torture. Losing a child to a Dark Chaos Born, can cause them enough pain that their own energy kills them."

Shadow looks at Rouge, and her eyes light up.

"Oh yeah, that's what that jackal was talking about!" she exclaims. "He said by using those emotions on a Dark Chaos Born, they could get large amounts of energy."

"Yes," Knuckles says lowly. "It's called a Dark Chaos Extraction. Basically, they do whatever they can to cause these deep emotions in a Dark Chaos Born, and then they take the energy that's created from it. It's the worst, most torturous thing you can do to any living creature."

Sonic pales and looks down.

Shadow's eyes widen.

_'That's what those scientists did to you?'_

Knuckles senses something off between them, but puts it off for now. "That's what happened in The Great War of Chaos. The Light Chaos Born started a slave market of Dark Chaos Born. Slavery became an approved law, and the war broke out among those that were corrupted, and those that weren't."

Rouge swallows. "That's awful."

"Chaos grew angry and wiped out all of them, only sparing those that he was fond of," the echidna continues. "The survivors had to hide their powers for fear of being hunted down and used. You've seen what G.U.N. has done to these two, what the jackals wanted to do to Sonic." He looks at his friend, who looks a little sick. "Do you see why I get so angry with you when you use your powers recklessly? Why I'm so ticked right now?"

Sonic nods stiffly. Shadow continues to avoid the echidna's look.

"You said there were other documents?" Rouge asks then.

The echidna nods. "Yeah. My father kept the more important ones locked up. He told me to never look at them though unless I learned of something called an 'Axciian,' but I never have and haven't looked."

"A-Axciian?" Sonic repeats in a high pitched voice. "I...I've heard of that…"

Everyone slowly looks at him.

"Sonic?" Knuckles asks hesitantly.

The hero looks at Shadow, and the dark hedgehog realizes where he's heard it.

"The scientists?"

Sonic nods.

Knuckles looks between them in confusion. "What?"

"T-The ones you told me about?" Rouge asks. Shadow's frown deepens.

"Yes. The scientists G.U.N. gave him to when he was arrested."

"What?!" Knuckles exclaims, looking at Sonic now with wide, shocked eyes. "Sonic?!"

The hero looks away.

"He said they did experiments on his Dark Chaos energy. There are video files of them torturing him, and I'm assuming it was that extraction. They were sending all the data to an unknown source," Shadow explains quietly.

Knuckles looks stunned. "Sonic why…why didn't you tell anyone?"

The hedgehog shrugs, avoiding his look. "I don't like thinking about it."

Rouge gives him a sad look and Knuckles looks mortified.

"I would never even wish an extraction on my worst enemy," Knuckles states slowly. "Sonic, I can't believe you've been through that."

The hero looks down. "They...mentioned 'Axciian' a lot," he says quietly. "From what I got, is that 'Axciian' is a type of person. The term for a multiple of them is 'Axciions.'"

Knuckles frowns deeply. "That's…interesting. Did they say what they are?"

Sonic shakes his head. "N-No, but the scientists were afraid of them. They hated them because they were overworked. I think that's who they were sending my data to."

The group is quiet.

This new information was almost terrifying. An enemy they had no leads on.

"We need to get Angel Island back," Knuckles sighs. "We should let the Zone Cops know about these…Axciions, though."

"That's a good idea," Rouge says softly.

"Until then, l'll just teach you all everything I know," the guardian continues. "I wish someone would have told me in the first place."

Sonic plays with his hands guiltily. "I knew you were going to be mad."

"Yeah, but we would have been able to avoid a lot of problems," the echidna glares at him. "I'm _more_ mad now. I should have _known_ something was up when you started acting weird."

"Did you get close to finding out?" Rouge asks, tilting her head. The guardian scowls.

"Yeah, I suspected it when Shadow mentioned Sonic was being clingy in his Dark form, but that was my only lead, until he randomly showed up when Sonic went Dark again at that base and stopped him from turning."

The two hedgehogs exchange worried looks.

Knuckles turns to Rouge. "I also noticed my Chaos Born scrolls and texts missing, and you seemed to be too involved in Sonic's life."

She chuckles dryly. "If you suspected, why didn't you question it?"

The echidna raises a brow. "By the time I had enough evidence _to_ ask, Sonic was already captured by Scourge, and then I got captured by Eggman."

Sonic, Shadow, and Rouge exchange surprised looks.

"So _that's _why Eggman captured you," Rouge hums, crossing her arms. "He didn't want you to interfere with Sonic and Shadow's relationship."

Suddenly Omega beeps.

"I HAVE SCANNED MY DATABASE FOR THE TERM 'AXCIIAN.' ACCORDING TO MY INITIAL PROGRAMMING, I WAS ORIGINALLY CREATED TO HUNT DOWN AND KILL AXCIIANS."

Everyone's eyes widen.

"What are you talking about?" Shadow asks in confusion.

"EGGMAN PROGRAMMED ME TO HUNT THEM DOWN. APPARENTLY THEY HAVE BEEN CAUSING HIM PROBLEMS FOR YEARS. I WAS TO FIND AND ELIMINATE THEM."

They're all staring at him in shock.

"Then what happened?" Rouge presses.

"AN AXCIIAN NAMED 'CERYS' GAVE ME A CHAOS LIFE SOURCE."

"You've met one?" Knuckles asks, dumbfounded.

"SHE SAID THE AXCIIONS WANTED ME TO KILL SHADOW, BUT SHE WANTED ME TO PROTECT HIM."

They all exchange looks.

"The Axciions want Shadow dead and are after Sonic..." Rouge says slowly.

"I AM NOT SUPPOSED TO HAVE THIS MEMORY. IT WAS MEANT TO BE DELETED."

Shadow swallows and Sonic looks anxious.

Knuckles looks between them, frowning. "We need to get Angel Island back the moment you two are no longer corrupted. I don't like this at all."

"How do we fix that?" Rouge asks. "You said they're corrupted, but what's causing it and how is it fixed?"

"They bonded by accident," the guardian starts. "That was strike one. Then they decided it was better to freak out in instead of coming to me, which was strike two. Then," he pauses, hard amethyst eyes falling on Shadow. The biohog looks away, ears folding back. "Do I even need to continue? Chaos is powered by emotion, Sonic should know this well by now," he says, giving the hero a chiding look. "If your emotions become corrupted, so will your energy. It's a vicious, sensitive cycle."

Both Chaos Born fidget in place.

"You both need to learn everything about the Chaos Born, and we need to get the Master Emerald back to fully heal your energy. Then we can-"

Sonic suddenly bolts to his feet, face turning red. "Um-!"

Shadow feels it and puts his cup down in relief.

The others look at the blue hero in confusion.

"Are you about to go into heat?" the echidna asks, and Sonic, red faced, nods and turns and Shadow follows him without a word.

"At least that means he's not pregnant," Rouge smirks.

"It's still a possibility," Knuckles scowls, watching them both stop and look at him in the doorway. "Use a small Chaos Block. He can't get pregnant if parts of his Dark Chaos energy are blocked off."

They both flush and nod, quickly escaping into the room.

After a moment of silence, the bat turns and gives the echidna a small frown. "I can't believe you _fucked_ Shadow," she says quietly.

The sides of his muzzle pinken, but he looks away with a shrug. "Bastard needed an ego check."

"You went easy on him," she coos. "There wasn't even any blood."

"I'm not evil," he huffs.

She smiles. "I'm sorry we didn't tell you, red. Sonic was really scared."

The echidna sighs. "He's hard to get to open up."

"That's why you're so hard on him," she smiles. "Well, both of them now."

He doesn't deny her words.

* * *

Sonic's falling into heat fast. His inhibitors are taken off and discarded, and he pulls Shadow on top of him as they fall on to the bed, their lips smashing together.

_'Are you hurt?' _Shadow hears in his head, and he hums, pulling back from his mate and looking down at him.

"N-No, it…" he stops, feeling his face heat up. Sonic pulls him back down and kisses him again.

_'He didn't hurt me,' _he lets himself think. Sonic hums in return.

_'Good. Don't think it's bad for me every time. I enjoy this.'_

Shadow pulls back and meets emerald eyes with his own. Sonic looks flustered for admitting it, and Shadow is surprised to hear it.

He was a _little_ worried about sleeping with Sonic again, after knowing what it feels like to…

_'I'm sure you're way better than Knuckles anyway. I promise I want this.'_

The ebony hedgehog sighs, leaning down to kiss him.

_'I'll take your word for it, then.'_

Sonic smirks shakily. _'Can I do something? We _are boyfriends _now.'_

Shadow frowns, a little set back by this. Sonic is looking up at him warmly.

_'It's not anything passed the line, I promise,' _the hero adds.

The striped hedgehog sighs. He supposed he should trust him more, all things considering.

He gives him a tiny nod, and Sonic sits up, shivering when another tremor of energy goes through him.

_'Can you even?' _Shadow gives him a look. _'You're in heat.'_

Sonic smiles shyly. _'I know. I can do it."_

The hero turns them around, and Shadow finds himself sitting against the wall. Sonic kisses him with a shaky breath, and Shadow tilts his head and kisses him deeper, their tongues feeling each others while their lips pressed and pulled apart. Sonic adjusts himself, sitting between Shadow's legs, and trails a hand down a white furred chest and then lower, making the biohog groan into his mouth. His hand reaches its goal and his fingers feel around in between his mate's legs, the blue hero huffing as he fights his heat.

Shadow can't help but feel a little nervous with the hero's actions, but he lets him, knowing he can trust him. The moment he feels himself drop down, revealing his now aching length, he sucks in his breath sharply and bucks into Sonic's touch.

The hero hums, pleased at this, his hands working to remove his gloves, their lips never parting.

Shadow takes his own off and Sonic throws them out of the way. Then his mouth moves away from the biohog's lips, across his muzzle, down to his throat, kissing and nipping lightly.

Meanwhile his hand in between their legs grabs him fully, and Shadow bucks and throws an arm over his mouth, stifling his groan. He doesn't notice he's put his wrist into view, but Sonic moves from his neck to it, nipping the area right next to his inhibitor and making him tense and make a choked sound. Sonic, curious, wants to hear it again, so he tightens his grip and pumps him harder.

"F-F-Fuck-k…" Shadow hisses against his arm. _'Sonic.'_

"Hmm," the hero responds, taking Shadow's inhibitor off, revealing the spot his essence hid under. Shadow was glad Sonic stuck with the same wrist, not wanting him to see the bite marks on his other one. Unlike the echidna, Sonic's mouth was warm and soft against him, and as he sucked gently against his essence, a light but hot feeling buzzed through him.

Shadow moans quietly, not wanting to be heard outside. He was embarrassed by the echidna enough, and didn't want to show any more of that weakness to anyone but Sonic. The blue male above him purrs softly, seemingly happy, and presses a kiss on the biohog's wrist before pulling away and dropping lower.

Shadow processes what he's going to do just as fawn lips wrapped shyly around his tip, tongue pressing down on it and lapping up the precum drizzled there.

He arches and covers his mouth, legs pulling up and his eyes widening.

_'Sonic!'_

It takes everything in him to keep his shouts and moans in his head, not wanting to speak out loud. Sonic goes deeper, slowly and hesitantly, but eventually gets confident enough to go as far as he can.

Shadow's hips shake and buck desperately. Sonic hums around his cock and he's pretty sure he goes cross-eyed.

'_Sonic stop, I'm-'_

The hero was still holding his wrist, and decides then to press hard on it with his thumb, holding Shadow's hips down with his other hand with all his might. His mouth pulls back up, and he hums again, sucking _hard_.

Shadow sees stars. His fingers latch in Sonic's quills and he nearly curls in on himself, burying his mouth into the top of a blue head and whining lowly as he cums, trying to hold in his scream as much as possible.

Sonic swallows it all, too. Shadow's pretty sure he's died and this is what the humans called heaven.

Pulling up, the hero chuckles in his ear and kisses the side of his muzzle. "G-Good time?"

He's _really _in heat now. His face is dark and flushed, and his blue legs are trembling nonstop, secretion visible between his legs. He smiles through it though, and Shadow has the sudden urge to throw him down and pin him against the bed.

He _does_.

* * *

She sighs as she throws her legs over the edge of the roof, plopping down to sit beside the echidna.

"I got a really good reading on his energy," he says, taking the water she hands him. "Which is another reason I did it. It's really the only way to read a Light Chaos male's energy."

The bat raises a brow, watching people start their early morning routine in the streets below. "Because of what position he was in?"

Knuckles nods, rubbing his eyes with a sigh. "He's being corrupted by an outside force."

Her eyes widen. "Omega mentioned that. He said it has something to do with his fake energy."

The red male frowns.

"That's actually not the problem. His fake energy has too many good uses. There's something _else _there."

"W-What?" she looks startled. "What is it then?"

"I don't know," the echidna shakes his head. He sighs, giving her a look. "I know what I'm doing with Shadow looks rough, but I need to completely figure him out. I just don't know how else to do it."

"I trust you, red," she says quietly. "I don't know if Sonic does."

He shrugs. "That's just how it has to be, then. I'm okay with Sonic being angry with me if it means I can protect him, and make sure Shadow's fit to be his mate, which...at the moment, he's far from that."

The bat looks away with a small frown. "Was there really no other way?"

He sighs again. "Tell me what we could have done to get Shadow to realize how much he's really fucked up? He may have been corrupted, but that corruption came from himself and the way he thinks and handles things."

She looks down. "Yeah, he's an ass. It was hard to see him like that, though, even if he fucking deserves it. I still look at Sonic and clearly remember how hurt he was, and I wonder if Sonic hadn't stopped him, if he really would have tried to fight me." She looks up, sighing. "I wasn't even mad when they fought and tore up my club. I just felt like no matter what I did I would be in the wrong. Shadow's kind of like a son to me, if I'm completely honest. I...want to defend him, but…"

The guardian crosses his arms and looks away. "I do feel bad, you know."

"I know you do," she says softly. "It wasn't like you to do that to him, but I _know _Shadow. Even Omega said the only way for someone like Shadow to change is to make him see the hard way, even if we have to hurt him. That's why we've always been hard on each other. You can't sweet talk a brick wall."

"Sonic can," Knuckles says dryly. "I _do _feel bad for Shadow. I know what it's like to think how he does, and I used to be the same way until Sonic knocked me down. I almost chose the Master Emerald over him once. I still have nightmares about finding him dead because I…" he stops, looking down. She gives him a warm look.

"That explains why you and Shadow butt heads all the time," she chuckles. "You two are _very _alike."

"He can't accept the fact that he can fuck up though," the red male frowns back at her. "That's our biggest difference."

She nods sadly. "He was raised by a bunch of crazy military people. He was trained to kill and hurt others without any consideration."

"That doesn't make it okay," the guardian's frown deepens. "He knew what he was doing before he did it, he's just been trying to avoid it because he doesn't know how to handle it. In a way, both he and Sonic have Stockholm because they're forced to get along for the sake of their bond." He stops, then frowns again. "You do realize that if it weren't for Silver, Sonic and Shadow would have fought again that night Sonic was rescued. In the past, Sonic runs, Shadow chases after him, and they just beat the hell out of each other."

The bat's large ears fold back. "What...happens to them?"

He scowls and looks away. "According to Zonic and Silver, Sonic and Shadow's bond gets so bad, Sonic gives his energy up. Shadow never apologised in the past, never stood up and took care of shit on his own. Sonic starts aging after losing his immortality, and then sometime later Shadow kills Eggman. Then Sonic and Sally get married, and Shadow makes it his goal to take over the world. He ends up becoming Sonic's biggest enemy, and nearly kills all of us and our families."

Her mouth falls open. "Oh my god."

"I'm not supposed to be talking about this," Knuckles sighs, "but someone deserves to know I guess. I don't want them to know what the other timeline was like until they're stable."

Rouge looks down, foot tapping anxiously. "So that's why you're so stressed, and why Zonic wanted to move so quickly…" She puts a hand over her mouth, her expression falling sadly. "It's...really true? Shadow really becomes like that?"

"Yeah… Apparently, that timeline's Sonic is actually the one who called Silver and told him everything."

Rouge whips to face him with large eyes. _"Sonic _sent Silver back in time to fix things?!"

He nods. "That timeline still exists, but that Sonic claims it doesn't have much more time. He called Silver and told him everything, and then Silver and Zonic went through the timeline until they arrived back here in the Prime dimension."

"Holy hell," the bat breathes. "He called for Silver to go back in time, just to fix his relationship with Shadow?"

"There's apparently more to it, but Zonic wouldn't spill," the guardian frowns. "That's right, though. The only reason I'm allowed to know this is because that Sonic had a message for me."

Rouge tilts her head. "What was that message?"

The echidna gives her a look.

He doesn't say anything.

Her eyes widen.

_"He's _the one that wanted you to…"

The echidna looks away. "That's why I did it in the end. I didn't really want to, but Zonic said I didn't have a say, and that we had to trust in that Sonic's words. After all, he's the one that went through all the hell these guys were able to avoid."

She covers her mouth. "That's…" She goes quiet, then remembers something. "Sonic mentioned you went after the last guy who tried to top him. What did you do to _him?"_

He looks at her and raises a brow. "_Don't_ think like that. I knocked him out and threw him in a river. They found him alive later in another town and arrested him because he had a major warrant."

She blinks, and then laughs loudly. "Your face! You just got _so _offended."

His muzzle reddens and he rolls his eyes. "You really think I'm that type of person?"

She sighs and takes his left hand watching him scowl. "No, big guy. You did what you had to, and to be honest? Shadow already seems way more mellow. I'm sure the Sonic from that other timeline has a plan in mind. We've got to trust he had you do that for a _very_ good reason."

"I hope so," he sighs, squeezing her hand back gently. "I don't like being a bad guy."

She gives him a warm smile. "I'll be there to vouch for you. Sonic will get over it, and maybe you and Shadow can have some sort of resolve."

He shrugs. "He's going to have to get used to me getting involved. Maybe if they hadn't been stupid in the beginning, I wouldn't need to be on their asses."

She chuckles. "Boys _are _pretty stupid."

He huffs.

* * *

_"What?!"_

The fox on the tiny screen looked stunned. Sonic chuckles dryly, pulling his legs up and getting comfy on Shadow's bed. The Ultimate Lifeform got a call from Towers the same time Tails called him.

"Heheh, yeah. What do you think?"

The kitsune frowns worriedly. _"I...don't know, Sonic. How long have you been talking to Shadow?"_

The hedgehog shrugs. "A while."

There was no need to tell the fox about the bond yet. Baby steps.

_"Sonic...are you sure? I mean, you did have his inhibitors, and you did have that mission with G.U.N…." _He pauses and thinks, before looking at his brother through the screen with furrowed brows. _"I trust you, Sonic, but is Shadow a good match?"_

The fox didn't know the biohog that well as it was. All he knew was that his brother was now claiming to date him.

Sonic feels his face heat up and he shrugs again. "Y-Yeah. I'm set, Tails."

_"...Sonic, this isn't because of what Sally did, right?"_

The hero winces and frowns. "No, buddy, I promise. I'm fine with her doing whatever she wants. We weren't _together_."

_"I know but…" _Tails sighs. _"You two just seemed like you were ready to get together again."_

Sonic bites his lip. "I'm okay. I'm not going out with Shadow for any other reason besides I like him," he blushes. "I've been friends with him for a while, so it's not like this is sudden for _us_."

The fox frowns. _"I hope so. I guess he does fall into your 'type.'"_

Sonic reddens.

_"Are you and Knuckles...just staying there for now?"_

The hedgehog swallows. "Y-Yeah. Sorry bud...it's just…"

_"I know. Do you want me to pass the news along or…?"_

Sonic nods. "Yeah, just don't tell anyone where I am. I don't want to be hunted down and I don't want to inconvenience Rouge at her Club anymore."

The fox nods. _"Okay." _He then gives his brother a small smirk. _"Should I be overly happy when talking about it to the others?"_

This kid was too smart. Sonic grins. "That's my bro." At the kid's laugh, he remembers something Knuckles said before and he sighs. "Sorry I haven't been honest with you."

Tails gives him a warm smile. _"I'm not mad, Sonic. I know how you have to do things, and that you'll always be there for me no matter what. I'm not mad at you for anything."_

The hedgehog smiles, a lump in his throat forming. "Thanks, Tails."

_"I love you, big brother, nothing will ever change that. Take it easy, okay? You deserve it."_

Sonic sits up and holds in his expression. "T-Thanks, I love you too, Tails. Keep me up to date."

_"I will!"_

The call ends and he bites his lip, fingers grabbing the sheets and tugging lightly.

He at one point in time thought Tails would never forgive him for the Fiona thing, but the fox was being much like his old self again. Was he forgiven?

No, it was selfish to think like that. Even though Tails had told him everything was fine when they _did_ finally talk about it, he could tell at the time the kid was still bitter.

Maybe he'll try to talk about it again…

He looks over at the door and wonders if he should join Team Dark with their call with Towers, and then he thinks of doing something _else_.

* * *

The echidna looks up as Sonic steps out of the room and walks over to him, the hero glancing over at Shadow, Rouge, and Omega talking on the club floor. Looking back at Knuckles, Sonic tilts his head.

"Can we talk?"

The guardian looks a little surprised, but nods, and the two step into the laundry room, out of sight of the others.

"What's up?" the red male asks, watching the hero play with his inhibitors.

Sonic hesitates, then looks up at him with a frown. "I want to know, Knuckles."

The echidna sighs. "I already told you I can't say anything. You can be as mad at me as you want, I'm just doing this for you and for Mobius."

Sonic's frown deepens. "I don't understand why you had to go that far. He's afraid of heights, you could have just held him off the side of a building."

Knuckles crosses his arms and looks away. "Do you really think that would have gotten to him? Just threatening him? Does he listen to threats?"

The hero looks down, fists tightening. "N-No...but…he apologized," he murmurs. "He wasn't lying either."

"Sonic, you can't depend on that ability," the guardian tells him with a scowl. "He can easily change his mind later. Yes you can sense lies, but you can't see the future." Sonic winces. The echidna continues, a bit softer. "You know he only apologized because Silver told him to, right?"

Sonic's eyes turn cold and he looks away. His teeth grit tightly and his ears fold down. "Does he really never do it on his own?"

"No, not in the original timeline," Knuckles sighs. "I know you want to believe in him, but I don't want you to get hurt, either. What if he changes? He's done it before."

The hero leans back against the wall, crossing his arms. He doesn't say a word.

"Sonic, I know you're not happy with me, but you have to trust me. You have to trust Silver, since he's the one trying to fix this. Don't make his job harder," the echidna says quietly.

Sonic sighs and nods, holding his head. "I don't like any of this."

Knuckles gives his friend a sad look. "I know…but you can't lose your head. I promise I'll tell you everything when it's safe to."

The blue male nods again, a bit shaky this time. "Okay…"

* * *

**Notes-**

_Thank you to everyone for all the kind words and messages. We are __**so**_ _happy we were able to reach out and help those that were struggling to write their stories._

_We haven't been able to get through all the comments :') I will hopefully get to them soon, but even if I don't respond, don't take it personally. I really appreciate everything._

_We won't be able to get Demons done by Tuesday, so it'll be out on Friday. Make sure to look at our Twitter tomorrow for the links to the comics we're going to announce and leave links to._

_Thank you guys again so much!_

_-Anoni_


	23. 22 - Aftermath Part II

**Chapter 22 - Aftermath Part II**

_"So that's what your decision is going to be?" _

Towers was angry.

"Yes," Shadow states simply. "You should feel lucky we're not going to come after you after you've withheld all that information."

Rouge smirks and fists bumps Omega.

Towers, staring with furrowed brows on the laptop screen, scowls.

_"Very well."_

He hangs up.

"What does _that_ mean?" Rouge asks with a laugh. "So cryptic!"

Shadow looks away and frowns.

He told Towers he would destroy the world for Sonic, and now he was willing to leave G.U.N. for him. The Commander was most likely going to prepare for his chance to subdue both hedgehogs in the case they go crazy.

Considering what happened at the base…

No, he would not allow G.U.N. to come after them again.

He looks over at the kitchen, seeing Sonic and Knuckles walk out of the laundry room together. Frowning, he quirks an ear, wondering what they were talking about.

"Wanna talk?" Rouge asks him quietly, crossing her arms and tilting her head. "We should go talk."

He looks at her and nods, and she motions for him to follow her up the stairs, then passed the second floor to the third.

The entire building was a slow work in progress, and up here was only storage for now. Rouge wanted to turn it into an apartment and move their bedrooms up here, but she didn't have the time to deal with it.

She flips on the lights and sighs at the amount of dust gathered everywhere.

"You think Blue will give us vacation pay?" she asks, grabbing a nearby towel from a shelf and swinging it around to get the dust off. Shadow covers his nose as he shuts the door, watching a cloud form.

"So you can clean up this mess?" he asks, watching her smirk.

"I may as well put Knuckles to use while he's here. I can have him clean this up."

Shadow grunts in response, turning to get away from the dust now flying through the air. He steps into a small kitchen area and tilts his head. "Why didn't you just move up here to begin with?"

She giggles. "Cause I'm a scaredy cat. I didn't want to be upstairs all by myself in this large building, but since I have _someone _here I might reconsider." He frowns at her and she turns and shrugs. "There's three bedrooms up here, two with bathrooms. Pick which one you want for you and Sonic."

She didn't have to say it like that but she chose to just to get a message across.

He rolls his eyes and follows her to the small hallway where the bedrooms were. All three rooms were pretty big, and he liked the room at the end.

"I thought you would," she hums. "Clean it and you can move up as soon as you want. It's gonna take me a little longer to get up here, so you and Blue can have all the fun you want."

He flushes but doesn't say anything.

He really liked the room. There was a closet right in front of you as you walked in, and a shelf in the wall on the right. Walking into the room to the left, it was large and open, with a big window and glass door at the far end, where outside you could see a balcony that overlooked the street. On the left wall was the door to the bathroom that was a little bigger than his current one. There was a dark wood bookshelf in the right wall, next to a small counter with cabinets and a mini fridge.

"It has a bar, but you don't drink," she teases. "Sonic likes ice cream though, so you could make it into an ice cream bar."

He does? Shadow's face softens at this information. Rouge smiles fondly at him as if she knows what he's thinking.

"You've lost a lot of your edge," she says warmly after a thought.

He avoids her look as he walks around the room, not answering.

She leans back against a wall to watch him as she continues. "You went from being a complete asshole to having a heart."

He stops by the window and looks out, crossing his arms.

She sighs. "Are you okay? You're not easy to read."

He closes his eyes and breathes out deeply.

"I'm fine."

She frowns at him. "You could at least be honest with me you know. You owe me that much after all I've done for you and Sonic, you know, as your _friend."_

He passes a frown at her, and she raises a brow.

"Are you not mad at me for not stopping him?" she asks softly.

He looks away. "I didn't ask you to help me."

"You expected me to though, didn't you?" she questions, sounding both annoyed and guilty.

"No, I'm not mad at you," he sighs. "I never was."

She gives him a sad expression, her ears folding. "I didn't feel it was right to help you after what you did to Sonic."

He nods. "I understand. I also _did_ try to hurt you."

She smiles. "You've really changed. I'm proud of you."

He avoids her look and gazes back out the window.

She walks over and looks out with him. "Are you sure you're okay? No tough guy stuff."

"Yes, I'm fine," he answers quietly. "There's nothing to talk about."

"I can't believe you when you talk like that," she smiles. "If you're not okay you can say it, you know? I'm not gonna judge."

He sighs again. "I'm just tired. There's nothing more to it."

She studies him carefully, then frowns. "What's going on in your head, then?"

He avoids her stare, watching the people in the streets. He really didn't know what was going on in his own head.

His eyelids fall halfway tiredly, and he leans against the wall next to the window. "Nothing," is all he says.

She shakes her head. "There's gotta be something," she presses. "Let me ask you; were you surprised?"

He winces. "No."

She looks taken aback. "You weren't?"

His frown deepens. "I expected anything."

Her brows furrow a little. "Anything? You were just okay with it?"

He looks down. "Yes."

There's a few moments of silence before she talks again.

"You let it happen. You didn't have to do that."

His muzzle pinkens as he looks away. "I know that."

She watches him a bit more, raising a brow. "Then why did you?"

He fidgets a little in place. She's never seen him _this _uncomfortable.

"I…" he stops himself, face darker.

She stares, her eyes widening.

No, she couldn't assume anything here.

"I don't want to talk about it."

She sighs. Walking over to him, she pulls him into a hug. He blinks in surprise, holding his hands up as if he didn't know what to do.

She has _never _hugged him before.

They just weren't those types of friends. They made crass jokes and punched each other and insulted each other for fun. They didn't _hug _each other.

...but now she was hugging him, as if it was a completely normal thing to do.

"I told Knuckles you're like a son to me," she says softly. "Or like a stupid little brother."

He frowns, hesitantly hugging her back. The only other person who had ever said something like that was Maria.

"Omega loves you, too," she continues. "We may not be the best team, but we sure as hell are family. Yeah, we got a dark sense of humor and people may see us as assholes, but we can at least be honest with each other. You can talk to me. I'm always here for you."

He sighs and closes his eyes, and she hugs him tighter.

"I love you, you idiot," she chuckles. "Don't think you're alone. Even if the world turns against you, I'd always be by your side." She pulls back and winks at him, smiling as she says "and I'm sure you'll be at Sonic's."

There's a lump in his throat that he doesn't understand. He nods and looks away, unable to say anything.

She takes his hand and guides him back to the stairs. "You should go find him and take him for a ride on your bike. It'd be cute, and it's almost sunset."

He thinks about it as he follows her, an idea starting to come to him. There _was_ actually a place he wanted to take Sonic.

They almost run into Knuckles coming up the stairs.

"Hi!" Rouge calls cheerfully, squeezing Shadow's hand as he stands blushing behind her. "What's up, handsome?"

The echidna's face reddens and he frowns at her. "Sonic wants to get the Master Emerald _tonight_."

Both agents blink in surprise.

"By ourselves?" the bat asks in wonder.

"Yes, he says Eggman won't suspect it," the guardian explains. "He called someone to leak fake plans to Eggman. _He _thinks we're doing a full frontal attack in three days."

_'That's quite an impressive plan of yours.'_

He hears a chuckle in his head from his mate, but no answer.

"Then after we get the emerald?" Rouge asks with a growing smirk.

"Take back Angel Island while the Resistance destroys his base. He'll be finished."

Sonic came up with this plan? It was _brilliant_.

"He's so good," Rouge grins, speaking of the blue hero. She looks back at Shadow and smiles. "Better make your date fast, then." Before he can even retort, she pushes him to go down the steps, turning to Knuckles. "I wanna talk with you, too."

As they pass, Shadow blushes and moves quickly down the steps to leave them alone. He makes it back down to the first floor and frowns as he looks over by the sitting area.

Omega was holding Sonic.

Well, more like his large arm was up while Sonic sat crossed legged like some kind of elegant deity upon his Knight's shoulder. The hero was laughing and Omega's red eyes were practically sparkling.

Did the robot seriously have a crush on Sonic?

Well...the robot loved destruction. He had a love for Blaze the Cat as well for her fire abilities…but now it seemed Sonic had won his heart with his Dark Chaos powers.

He supposed that's what made Omega different from any _normal_ robot. He could be considered a Chaos Born in a way, since he was powered by a Chaos Drive and had his own energy signature and abilities.

Still, that didn't excuse _this._

Shadow walks over with a frown and glares at the robot, who looked at him and beeped as if to say "you snooze you lose."

Sonic smiles at them both, knowing full well what was going on here but acting oblivious because he found it amusing.

Shadow turns his attention to the hedgehog and thinks _'do we have time to go somewhere?'_

Sonic tilts his head curiously and nods, turning to look up at Omega and smiling. "I'm gonna go with Shads, big guy, hope you don't mind."

"I MIND GREATLY," the robot says, causing Shadow to roll his eyes and Sonic to laugh. The blue hero decides to kiss the side of the robot's yellow helmet playfully and then hop down.

Shadow scowls at Omega, who, if he were organic, would most likely have pink cheeks.

What a dick.

"I LOOK FORWARD TO THE MISSION," the robot tells the hero, and Shadow decides that's enough and drags Sonic back to their bedroom, his mate laughing the whole way.

They leave the door open as they grab their shoes, Sonic stopping to give him a small smile. "You wouldn't happen to have a jacket I could borrow? Mine was thrown away."

Because of the blood…

The ebony hog nods, then gives him a curious look. "Have you been cold?"

The blue hero frowns and looks away. "A little. I've just been getting chills a lot lately."

Chaos energy kept them warm when it was in good use, so did this have something to do with that?

He hands over a black G.U.N. jacket and Sonic grins at the logo as he puts it on. It was a little baggy on him, but…

The hero doesn't notice him staring, looking at himself in the mirror.

_'I like the color black…' _the blue male thinks unexpectedly.

Shadow raises a brow at him and he turns red, realizing the thought went through the link. He changes the subject quickly by holding up his arms and pointing to his blue inhibitors.

"Q-Question...when did my inhibitors get fixed?"

Shadow tilts his head. "What are you talking about?"

Sonic frowns deeply. "I remembered something a little bit ago. My inhibitor was shattered when I was fighting the jackals."

Shadow's brows furrow and he looks down, thinking hard to himself.

Then his eyes widen.

"I didn't realize everything that happened then was so blurry," he says quietly. "If what I remember is true, we walked by your inhibitors. You picked up the broken one and…" his voice trails off, and Sonic's eyes widen as he looks at the ring around his wrist.

He sees it clearly in his head now.

He had healed the ring with his energy somehow.

"That's…" Sonic murmurs.

It was impossible. The ring broke into so many tiny fragments. To be able to just…_recreate _the _entire _ring…

What _was _Dark Chaos energy?

They shake the thoughts away for now and hurry up. It was something they would have to research. Shadow takes him to the small garage behind the building where they kept his bike...and also where Omega stayed when he wasn't busy.

Sonic blushes at the vehicle, giving his mate a strange look. "We're taking your bike?"

Shadow pulls him in for a kiss and guides him to sit. "Yes. I don't run _every_where like you do."

The hero opens his mouth to give a smart retort, then tenses up with wide eyes as Shadow sits behind him, making a tiny sound of surprise. "Sh-Shouldn't _I_ sit behind _you_?"

The striped hedgehog reaches around him, seeing he could still reach everything with Sonic sitting as he was. The only problem was the hero having to keep his quills relaxed, which was _very_ hard in this situation.

They were pressed _completely _together. Sonic's face was crimson.

"Do we have to-"

Shadow turns the key and the bike roars to life, making Sonic yelp and grab the edge of the seat, ears folding back.

"I-I don't th-think I can r-ride this for l-long," the hero looks back at him with embarrassment. Shadow feels his own face heat up, and he kisses his mate's cheek with a tiny smile.

"It won't take long," he says in a blue ear, revving the bike up and driving out of the garage. Sonic's eyes widen and he shrinks against him, watching them ride out onto the street and quickly down the road.

The vibrations of the bike were _actually_ going to drive Sonic insane. He blamed it on the Mating Season and his unstable energy, and the feel of Shadow's strong and warm body pressed against his back, arms around him to reach the handles.

The jacket was super comfy, too. It smelled like Shadow - all warm and spicy - and it only made his energy react more. He decides to focus on the road as they zoomed out of the city, impressed with the motorcycle's speed. They were almost invisible as they weaved passed cars and through lights, Shadow purposely taking the long, easy way out to avoid turns.

Once they're out of Central City and driving through the desert, Sonic recognizes the route they're taking.

* * *

They make it to Station Square before the sun starts to set, and they leave the bike behind to move on foot. Shadow guides them through the heart of the city, heading to one spot in particular.

Sonic seems to know where they're going.

When they finally make it, Shadow stops a few feet in front of him and they take a minute to catch their breath.

Then they face each other.

It's been a long time since they've stood here like this.

This was the lot they had first met in.

No one was around at this time, most people on their way home. The red sun in the sky was shining brightly on both of them, and despite how chilly it was starting to get, they felt warm.

It was a lot different than their first meeting. There wasn't a giant, broken G.U.N. robot laying in rubble. It wasn't night time. They weren't being hunted down.

They weren't fighting.

Sonic knows why they're here.

He remembers the feeling he got when he first saw him.

_"It all starts with this: a jewel containing the ultimate power."_

_"That's...the Chaos Emerald!"_

Shadow was the first person to use a single emerald to perform Chaos Control. It hadn't even been _thought of_ back then. At first Sonic had confused it for Shadow simply being faster than him, but that was impossible.

He remembered the way the Ultimate Lifeform ran passed him. The cold but exciting shock that he finally had a challenge. Someone he could fight, someone he could _race. _He had never known anyone as powerful as Shadow.

He still didn't.

It really all started from that one moment. Maybe if he hadn't learned how to use Chaos Control (with a fake emerald, even), the world would have been destroyed. Shadow saved not only him, but everyone, not just once but twice.

_"How did you do that? Chaos Control with only one emerald?"_

_"Do you want to learn? You're more than capable."_

He blushes and smiles.

Shadow seems to be thinking just as hard.

They make their way up a nearby, familiar building, sitting on the top of it to overlook the city, the ocean, and the sunset. Sonic crawls into his mates arms at only a small beckon, straddling his hips as their lips meet.

It probably wasn't smart to have sex on top of a tall building...in the heart of a large city with multiple helicopters, but they could care less.

* * *

"You wanna go to Prison Island again?" Sonic asks him as they ride back to Club Rouge, sitting across Shadow's lap sideways and comfortably.

The ebony hog gives him a concerned look. "Why would you want to? After everything you've been through there…"

The cobalt hero smiles brightly. "It's fine. No one messed with me while I was there. I willingly let them take me there anyway."

Shadow blinks in surprise. "Why would you do that?"

"Because someone told me you were _from_ there," Sonic explains. "I figured you'd go back for the emeralds there."

Shadow bites the inside of his cheek. He never realized how smart Sonic was until now. "I see," he says more to himself, thinking over the offer.

He never went back to that place, almost forgetting about it. Didn't they blow it up? Was there even anything left?

Then again, that's where his memories with Sonic begin to fade beyond his reach. Memories he needed to find.

"I suppose we should go," he says to his mate, turning on to the street that Club Rouge sat on. They don't say anything until they pull back into the garage, and Shadow stops him from jumping up. "You should show me the room on the ARK."

Sonic turns red.

"I-I, I can," he stutters out. "We should go to Prison Island first…"

"Of course."

* * *

Rouge was able to _acquire _a helicopter from G.U.N. for them, of course without any details how. It doesn't take long for them to reach Eggman's base, and Sonic advises her to land far enough away in a small clearing so they wouldn't be seen.

This was a stealth mission.

Sonic's plan was to split them up. He and Shadow would go sneak in somewhere away from the Master Emerald's location, blowing up generators and causing trouble for the doctor. Rouge and Knuckles would retrieve the Master Emerald, and Omega was going to cover them.

"If we can't get the emerald, we have to shatter it," the guardian tells them. "The pieces will scatter like Chaos Emeralds, and I can collect and restore it."

"Is…" Rouge stops them. "Is that why it breaks so easily?"

"Yeah," Sonic answers. "You didn't know that?"

"I never really thought about it," she chuckles dryly, holding up her hands in a shrug.

They all get serious and nod, plan set and ready.

"You two be careful," Rouge tells the hedgehogs, and Shadow catches Knuckles giving him a warning look.

Sonic could potentially go into heat while they were here if his energy got too upset. Shadow would have to protect him with his life.

After splitting up, they all make their ways to their respective spots. Sonic and Shadow run through the trees blazingly quick, jumping over rocks and branches in their way.

They stop right at the edge of the forest, looking down the hill at one of the many power stations throughout the entire base.

"I know you want to question Eggman," Sonic says softly, looking over at him. "Just not now, okay? We need to get the Master Emerald back."

Shadow swallows and looks away. "I may not have another chance," he says quietly.

"You will, I'll make sure of it," the hero promises. "Whatever Eggman's done with your memory, we might be able to fix it on our own, anyway. Going to him isn't always the answer, and he'll end up using you."

Again.

Shadow sighs.

"You're right." Still, he didn't like it.

"Thank you," Sonic smiles, reaching for him to kiss him.

As they pull away from each other, they both let out deep breaths.

It was time to move.

* * *

"Those idiots think I don't see what they're planning," Eggman sighs irritably. "That hedgehog has a lot of nerve."

Orbot, who sat back and watched his master turn on all the security monitors, floats forward a step. "B-Boss, you only know because that Cerys lady told you."

The doctor rolls his eyes.

Still, the robot was right.

Her words played back in his head, and he almost forgets what he's supposed to be doing, until a loud explosion shakes the side of his base.

He grabs his console to stable himself, eyes narrowing sharply.

"_That_ _little blue-!"_

He stops himself.

No, everything was fine. He had the upper hand here.

He grins.

_'Yes you blue runt. Break into my base. I _will_ have the last laugh here.'_

* * *

They sliced through robots and took everything down. They were doing good, too, until Metal Sonic crashed into Sonic.

The two blue blurs get caught up in a tangle of swinging fists and kicking legs, before Sonic throws the bot off him and it takes off down a long, metal hallway.

He chases after it, calling for Shadow to follow.

"Sonic!"

The Ultimate Lifeform curses, forgetting how careless the hero could be, and takes off after them.

He finds the hedgehog stopped outside a small lab room, peeking around the corner to watch Metal Sonic enter through a tall, automatic door.

"Eggman's most likely trying to trap me," Sonic sighs. "The others don't have the emerald yet."

Shadow glances into the lab room next to them and his eyes light up at the computer sitting across the room.

"Shadow," Sonic pulls on his wrist. "We gotta distract him."

The biohog frowns. "We're passing up an opportunity-"

"Shadow…"

Sonic looks away, and the biohog frowns guiltily.

"Okay," the blue hero sighs. "After this fight. We'll come back if we can."

Shadow closes his eyes and nods. He didn't have a choice.

"Alright."

They follow Metal for a little ways, making it to a large room with a ceiling five stories up. Waiting for them, unsurprisingly is Eggman in a tall, powerful mech suit shaped like a spider.

"Are-Are you kidding me?" Sonic stammers out at the robot. _'A spider?!'_

_"You've both just walked into your grave!" _Eggman screams from the cockpit of the robot, running his hands across his control console and sending off hundreds of weapons.

Robots started pouring from the walls, all different sized robot spiders.

"Oh mother of fucking Chaos," Sonic breathes weakly.

Shadow gives him a look just before they both dodge out of the way of about seven missiles, all crashing into the ground. The tinier robot spiders _squealed _as they're hit, but it didn't seem to matter to their numbers. There had to be _thousands._

Sonic's Dark Chaos energy started to react very quickly.

Shadow looks over his shoulder at the blue blur spindashing like mad, slamming hard into walls and robots as if he were losing his mind.

He suddenly realizes how much _fear_ he can feel from him.

_'Do you have arachnophobia?'_

There's no answer for a few seconds, and then he watches Sonic land in a small clearing he had created. The hero looks at him with a flushed, annoyed face.

_'Yes. I do.'_

He seems embarrassed by this. They move quickly out of the way of the doctor's large mech, jumping over and sliding under long, thin, spiky legs. The thing was painted black with purple stripes on it, as were all the smaller robots. It _was _unnerving to look at, even if spiders didn't bother him as much. He's seen far worse creatures.

Sonic's energy felt sick and uneasy.

_'They're just robots,' _he tells him, trying to ease some of the discomfort.

There's a little relief. Sonic, somehow while in the middle of battle, sends him a small smile.

_'I know. I'm okay.'_

He was really starting to appreciate their telepathy with each other.

_"Stand still you fools!"_

Shadow clicks his tongue, skating up the wall on his right and jumping off it to spindash straight through the robot.

Eggman just starts _laughing._

The biohog lands next to his mate, and they both exchange concerned looks with each other. They watch the doctor laugh his head off, and Sonic shifts uncomfortably on his feet.

_'He's acting like this again…'_

Shadow passes him a questioning look and Sonic bites his lip.

The mad human finally settles down after a few long minutes, and then chuckles darkly.

The robot…

...started to _heal._

The metal that was torn apart just _grew _back, reconnecting to where it was supposed to be. Wires fused back together and even the paint glossed over again.

All the tiny robots started to do the same.

"Shadow…" Sonic starts slowly with slight panic, looking back at him. "That's just like my…"

Eggman slams his hands on his console and _wheezes. _

_"This entire building is going to explode!" _the human exclaims proudly. _"Everything and everyone in it will be destroyed! "_

Their eyes shrink.

"We gotta warn the others!" Sonic yells, turning on his heels and running out of the room. Shadow turns and chases after him, and Eggman follows, crashing through the walls along with his spider army.

They run back the way they came, both panting.

"He doesn't even care about the Master Emerald!" Sonic exclaims as Shadow catches up with him. "He's gone completely insane!"

"You didn't think that before?" Shadow huffs.

Sonic laughs weakly.

As they turn a corner, more robots pour in from the other side of the hallway. They could hear Eggman destroying his base to chase after them. Looking back behind them was an image straight out of a horror movie. Sonic absolutely _refused_ to.

As they pass by the lab room from before, Shadow slows down a little, eyes wide.

They couldn't just-

Sonic looks back at him to question why he was slowing down, when Eggman crashes through the wall in front of them.

Sonic curls into a ball and slides under the robot barely in time before the hallway is blocked.

_'Shadow go back the other way! I'll meet you outside!'_

The biohog curses and turns, spindashing through the robots. Eggman takes after Sonic and the smaller robots stay behind to fight Shadow.

The Ultimate Lifeform growls and takes off his inhibitors.

He didn't have time for this.

* * *

The three stop and brace as the base shakes apart.

Knuckles, cradling the large Master Emerald in his arms, looks at Rouge with wide eyes.

She looks just as worried.

"WE NEED TO HURRY," Omega urges them, and they nod and follow the robot closely.

Rouge's communicator lights up.

_"Ro….Rou..ge! Yo…...g….eed to get out!"_

It was Sonic. There was too much noise to catch everything he was saying.

"Sonic?" Rouge calls back to him. "Sonic what's going on?"

When he speaks next his voice is much clearer.

_"The base is going to explode! Eggman doesn't care about the Master Emerald, it was just bait!"_

As if on cue, a deafening boom can be heard from somewhere away from them. The entire building shakes with a tremor, parts of the ceiling and walls coming down.

_"Let's move!"_ Knuckles yells.

* * *

Sonic slides, his shoes screeching as he tries to stop before the wall of incoming spiderbots. He turns around quickly and curses when Eggman blocks him in.

His eyes shrink.

He's surrounded.

Eggman snickers darkly, and the blue hero swallows.

_"Hello again, hedgehog."_

* * *

_"Haa…" _he pants, grabbing the golden rings from the ground and clipping them back on.

His Chaos energy had burned away most of the robots, and the ones that were left ran away.

He sat, alone in the hallway, trying to catch his breath.

The base was already starting to explode. He needed to move.

He climbs to his feet and freezes.

The lab room was _right there._

He swallows. Sonic should be out by now, right? He had time, right?

He steps into the room cautiously, gritting his teeth.

_'Sonic?'_

There was no answer, but the hero's energy didn't feel unstable or anything.

Maybe he was with the others by now… His thoughts are interrupted by another explosion going off. He curses and grabs the computer desk to hold himself up.

He looks at the monitor.

If he didn't do this now, they would lose so many opportunities.

What the doctor's plans were, where his bases were all located, all his robot plans and what he's been hiding…

_'My memories…'_

He shakes his head, getting himself to snap to it.

He would get the data, and then find the others.

* * *

_'Shadow, where are you?!'_

He wasn't getting any answer from his mate.

The hero cries out as a laser singes the quills on top of his head.

He was outnumbered.

He kept trying to tear through the robots, kept trying to make a path, an escape, but the robots just kept coming.

He called for Shadow repeatedly, but there was nothing but silence every time.

_'Where are you?!'_

Eggman must see his panic because he starts laughing again.

_"You poor rat!" _the madman gloats from his robot. _"What's wrong? Is your boyfriend not here to save you?"_

Sonic bites his bottom lip at the taunt, saving his breath and trying to ignore him.

_"I wonder where he is? Surely not off doing something he isn't supposed to?"_ Eggman continues merrily.

The Hero of Mobius swallows the lump in his throat.

There was no way…was there?

_"Oh! It looks like someone has accessed one of my computers! I wonder who that could be?"_

The hedgehog's hits became harder and quicker. He kicked and he punched and he spun into the endless robots, his ears pinned back against his head.

Shadow _promised_. He wouldn't do it. Eggman was just trying to upset him.

...but he wasn't sensing any lies from him...

The mad doctor laughs again.

_"You poor, poor idiot. Did you really think anyone actually gave a shit about you? That _Shadow _did what? Love you? Hahaha!"_

Sonic sucks in his breath. He doesn't see the large claw from the robot behind him, and cries out as he's grabbed by spikey legs and slammed into the ground.

His vision goes hazy for a second, and then another explosion shakes the building again.

Eggman is still laughing.

_"You think anyone really cares for you, hedgehog? I've told you before, didn't I? They only want to rescue you when they _need_ you. The moment I'm gone you'll become their enemy!"_

Sonic twists and turns his body, trying to get out of the robot's grip. He's pressed into the floor, three spider legs pinning him down. The bot turns and sets its tiny purple eyes on him.

He feels nauseous.

Eggman continues on with murderous glee. _"Why do you think they offered to take away your powers? You're a threat, a monster to them!"_

He was starting to panic. He couldn't move. The tiny spider robots started crawling to him, and his eyes go wide.

_"I've got you again, hedgehog!"_

The robot spiders start crawling over him, biting with their tiny fangs. His Chaos energy dips and he finally snaps, throwing his head back and screaming for Shadow at the top of his lungs.

* * *

_"SHAAADOOOW!"_

The group stops, looking around in shock.

"That was Sonic!" Rouge gasps, and Knuckles lets out a frustrated growl.

"He's in trouble," the guardian huffs, setting down the Master Emerald. "He's about to both go into heat and go Dark. I can feel his energy closeby."

Omega holds up his arms, readying his guns. "I WILL GO ASSIST HIM. GET THE EMERALD TO SAFETY."

Knuckles shakes his head.

"I'm not leaving him behind for the emerald."

Rouge grabs his shoulder. "We can't leave the emerald here, Red."

The echidna sighs, looking at the gem.

"I know."

He lifts up a fist and shatters the gem.

* * *

He had found a flash drive stick and plugged it in, downloading as much of the information as it could take.

Still nothing from Sonic.

He paced around the room anxiously and felt something bile rise in his throat.

This room…looked familiar?

No it…

His eyes widen as he steps back and takes another look at it.

The setting was different, but the way the room was shaped and arranged…

...it looked exactly like that room he and Rouge found in the Mystic Ruins when Sonic was captured by Scourge. The room where his energy…

He holds his head, remembering blacking out and Rouge calling for him.

Why would the doctor…?

He looks at the computer.

It…hadn't been locked with a password…

...and he was coincidentally separated from Sonic and left behind here.

He begins to feel sick. He looks out into the hallway, then back at the computer.

_"Whatever Eggman's done with your memory, we might be able to fix it on our own, anyway. Going to him isn't always the answer, and he'll end up using you."_

His blood goes cold, and he runs and grabs the drive.

When he runs out of the room, a terrible shock courses through him, making him shout and collapse forward.

_'SHADOW WHERE ARE YOU?!'_

Sonic was in trouble.

* * *

He tries to go into his Dark form but he can't. He's too close to going in heat. He just felt weaker and weaker.

He screamed over Eggman's words and called for Shadow. The hedgehog was _surely_ going to come for him. He didn't care if he looked cowardly calling for him. He just needed Shadow to get here.

Eventually his voice cracks and he coughs. Eggman steps out of his robot and walks over to him with a scowl. The spiderbots moved out of his way like a rolling out carpet, and the giant one holding him down lets him go.

Sonic rolls over and tries to get to his feet, but his wobbly legs won't support him. He yelps as he collapses, banging his knee on the metal floor.

A hand grabs the back of his neck and lifts him up.

Sonic loses it.

_"No!"_

He kicks out, but he's weak and in heat. This...was his _absolute_ worst nightmare. Eggman snickers.

"This was easier than expected," he says, turning around towards a group of robots that appeared with a small containment pod.

The hedgehog screams again, hands weakly grabbing at the large hand around his neck. His quills refused to cooperate with him, his legs could barely kick, and his energy was _burning._

_"SHAAADOWW!"_

Eggman just laughs and throws him into the pod.

It was so tiny. His knees were forced to his chest and his arms were tucked in, practically in a ball. The glass door closes and he chokes on a sob.

This could _not_ be happening again. He _wasn't_ being captured by Eggman again. He _wasn't_ being abandoned by Shadow and his friends again…

_'Shadow please!'_

Could he even hear him?

The robots pick up the pod he's trapped in and he whines. Eggman is telling them something but he can't hear it.

-and then Omega comes blasting through the wall.

_"EXTERMINATE EGGMAN AND ALL ROBOTS FOR HURTING SONIC."_

Rouge is somehow able to get him out of the pod. Sonic practically crawls into her arms and gasps, his breath quick and rough. Knuckles runs over and lifts the hero into his arms, and then looks over with Rouge at Eggman running to his pod and scampering inside, swearing loudly.

There's another explosion, and this one is closer.

"We need to go!" Knuckles yells over the loudness, and they run and break for their escape.

"Where the hell is Shadow?!" Rouge asks as she flies above them.

"I-I don't kn-know…" Sonic stammers, hiccuping between sentences, covering his mouth in embarrassment. "W-We g-got s-sep-parated…"

"What would he be doing?" Knuckles questions, glancing worriedly at the hero in his arms.

Sonic avoids his look. "I...I-I don't know…"

Both Rouge and Knuckles frown suspiciously.

* * *

He can barely breathe. He crashes into walls as he turns corners, stumbling and falling when his Chaos energy can't power his skates. He coughs and covers his mouth and nose as smoke pours into the halls from the explosions. No doubt the lab room was destroyed.

Eggman was a _monster_.

He curses as he gets back up and keeps going, avoiding robots because fighting was _impossible_ right now.

Was this because he broke his Oath?

...was Sonic okay?

That phrase kept repeating in his head. Running down these corridors reminded him of a time over fifty years ago. At the end of it he lost Maria.

Would he lose Sonic, too?

_'I'm terrible.'_

Why didn't he listen?

Hell, he never listened. He just did what he wanted to do regardless if others were hurt or not. This was why their relationship fell apart. This was why he ended up hurting Sonic.

Despite everyone's actions, he was the most guilty.

He can't even imagine what Sonic feels.

_'Maria, I've made a big mistake. I've made many mistakes. You would be so angry with me right now. You would never look at me again, I'm sure. You told me that when I find the love of my life to take care of them and protect them the way I would for you, but even more. I broke my promise to you and you're not even here to scold me for it.'_

He doesn't feel the streaks on his muzzle as he runs.

_'I loved him at one point and can't remember. It bothers me just as much as when I couldn't remember you. I'm sure when he saw me again and realized I was again his enemy it hurt him. Even after everything, when he gave me a chance, I just ended up hurting him over and over again. How many times did I insult him?'_

Too many to count.

_"You're such an idiot."_

_"I don't have time for you."_

_"I don't need your friendship."_

_"Don't you ever think you might be annoying someone?"_

It was easier to insult than to face his feelings. He would look away when he said those things too, just because he knew Sonic's face would falter, his bright emerald eyes would dim, and his smile would fade away.

He hated hurting him. It was just easier to hurt than to be hurt.

_'I _will_ make this right.'_

He just hoped it wasn't too late.

By the time he's outside, he's ready to faint.

He sees the giant spider robot running after the others.

He sighs and lets his rings fall off again.

He could start here.

* * *

They watch as Shadow falls into the ground. Sonic wrestles out of Knuckles's arms and somehow runs over to him, the two grabbing on to each other almost desperately.

"Where were you?!" Sonic yells out, tears falling down his muzzle. "Sh-Shadow where the hell w-where you?"

The biohog swallows, and Sonic's eyes widen as he realizes the flash drive in his hands.

"Y-You…"

Shadow's head falls forward.

Knuckles and Rouge step forward and Sonic turns back and glares at them.

"It's fine, he's just hurt!"

His voice is broken.

Why is he covering him?

Sonic is shaking violently. Shadow nervously pulls him closer, a little relieved when Sonic hugs him back.

Rouge leaves to find Shadow's inhibitors and the helicopter, Knuckles and Omega staying behind to shelter the two hedgehogs. None of them had seen what happened to Eggman. The Master Emerald was shattered.

Wet snow and rain started falling on them from the night sky, strong winds kicking up. They move under the trees as Rouge lands the helicopter, all climbing in hurriedly, wanting nothing more than to go home.

* * *

When they get back to Club Rouge, they all walk in slowly and dejectedly. Even Omega was glum, immediately going to plug himself into the wall and shut down for the night without a word.

Sonic and Shadow escape into their room, heading to the bathroom. Shadow turns on the shower as Sonic throws his clothes outside the room. Neither said a word to each other.

"Put a block up, please," Sonic only asks him as they both get in the shower together, face red as he unclips his inhibitors. "Just until we get to bed."

His voice was so soft and quiet, filled with exhaustion. Shadow nods and does, figuring this wasn't the place to take care of Sonic's heat when they were so hurt and tired.

When they finally hit the pillows and sheets, lips locked and legs entangled, they purposely push everything to the backs of their minds.

They don't last long, and fall asleep immediately afterwards.

* * *

Shadow wakes up sometime early in the morning. The sun wasn't even up yet at this time, and he wonders how he could feel so awake.

Then he notices Sonic whimpering in his sleep.

He holds him close and whispers softly to him, pressing kisses on his forehead. The blue hero was trembling with a nightmare, most likely about what happened at the base.

_'I'm sorry,' _the ebony hog thinks guiltily. Things wouldn't have gotten so bad if he had been there.

He gently shakes his mate, calling him softly to wake up. The hero jolts as he snaps out of his dream, gasping quietly. He looks up at Shadow with wide emerald eyes, and the biohog leans down to kiss his forehead.

Sonic sighs.

They curl into each other, pulling the blankets over their shoulders.

Shadow remembers a time where he was too arrogant to lay with Sonic like this. How stupid he had been…

_'That information better be worth it.'_

The ebony hog sighs.

_'I'm sorry.'_

Sonic shakes his head.

He wasn't going to be forgiven so easily. He couldn't even forgive himself.

Sonic could have been kidnapped again. If the others hadn't gotten to him…

_'You could have been captured, too,' _Sonic thinks back. _'If the room was trapped.'_

That was true as well.

Shadow holds him closer.

All he's done is hurt him.

_'I don't deserve you.'_

Sonic hugs him back.

_'Sometimes I think the same thing.'_

Shadow blinks in surprise.

"Why?"

The hero shrugs.

"I kept telling myself you wouldn't leave me. I told myself my friends wouldn't," Sonic says quietly, rubbing his tired eyes. "Eggman always tells me the only reason anyone cares about me is because they need me. That the moment they don't need me anymore…"

He can feel the hurt.

"The thing is," the hedgehog continues with a shaky breath, "I believe him. Everyone has always been so quick to turn on me when things are going wrong. It took so long for anyone to notice I was even missing…" His voice becomes a strained whisper. "Now I'm wondering if they _want_ me to give up my immortality."

Shadow grits his teeth, reaching up to massage a blue ear.

"When Eggman's gone…" the hero mumbles. "I don't want to be hated…but everyone just…"

"Sonic…"

The blue hedgehog bites his lip.

They shared the same fear.

The doctor was unfortunately right.

Once he was gone, Sonic and Shadow would be everyone's target. The world would watch them and wait for their powers to slip.

For Sonic to go Dark, or for Shadow to turn on them.

This was why the Chaos Born went into hiding. For _this_ very reason.

Burying his nose into the crook of Sonic's neck, Shadow holds him close.

_'I won't make any more mistakes. I will protect you the way you've protected this world no matter what. I'll be on all sides fighting for you, and I won't let anyone get their hands on you again.'_

Sonic's fingers pull on his chest fur.

_'Shadow…'_

* * *

He takes in a deep breath, then opens the door.

The sun was starting to rise but the morning was still chilly. There was a light breeze to remind the city winter was coming just around the corner, and as he steps onto the roof, Shadow takes in a deep, cool breath.

Knuckles, standing near the edge of the building, looking out over the street, turns back to meet the biohog's eyes.

"You wanted to talk?"

Shadow feels his face turn red, but he nods determinedly.

This was going to be the hardest blow to his ego he's ever taken. The hardest deal he was ever going to make. It didn't even matter that it was the echidna he was asking...it was _what _he was about to ask for.

For Sonic, it was worth it.

With a red muzzle, the ebony hog looks away.

"I need...your help."

* * *

**Notes-**

_Shashi got sick with a bad cold and hasn't fully recovered yet, so we had to skip Tuesday and hold off until today. _

_**We will be taking a short break until November 6th. I'll post on Twitter any updates we will be posting then.**_

_We've written over 70k words these past few weeks and have battled a lot of hate. Just remember we are really busy, so if we don't see your comments right away or reply, don't be mad. We will be writing on our break, and possibly starting a new story or two…_

_Check out our Deviantart for the comic covers and the future pages for it. In order to see Bonds of Chaos you have to be a watcher, just to dissuade assholes from spam attacking it. As of now, we might have to make a for all our NSFW art and keep it all free to view (unless we get attacked). We will still post art on Twitter, but we want to make __**more**__ art first._

_Thank you all of course for the support. We're sorry about the unexpected break and delay, but hell, we gotta take care of ourselves._

_Check on us at Twitter and DA to stay up to date. Our DA username is TheAnonymoux._

_Love you all._

_Anoni_


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